Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 371

“This is unbelievable….”

The man who identified himself as Ermong seemed more shocked by Jintun’s appearance than Maiya, who had arrived earlier.

From his perspective, having come all this way with the intention of seizing the Ascendant’s body, this situation was an entirely unexpected outcome.

Lenok, too, had never imagined that Jintun would be waiting for his guests in this state within the labyrinth.

Above the pure white cradle palace, a frail old man with his eyes closed, barely breathing.

Nowhere could one sense the majestic dignity of an Ascendant, yet there was no doubt that this man was Zaikigis Ithernoer himself.

If not for this man, who had gathered all the facilities and pipes of the cradle in one place and fallen asleep, there would be no one else capable of maintaining and manifesting this labyrinth.

“They’ve forcibly inserted pipes into his back and spinal cord, injecting something. It’s a crude method, but the connections are incredibly smooth….”

Lenok muttered, carefully observing the pipe connections on Jintun’s back.

“Is he continuously injecting energy gathered around the cradle into Jintun’s body? No matter how I look at it, it feels more like a life support system than a magical weapon….”

He had already reached a conclusion in his mind, but that made it even harder to believe.

That the Ascendant, who single-handedly manifested a vast, endless labyrinth in the snowy fields of the Ideological Battlefield, was now relying on machines to prolong his life.

He had never once imagined that waking Jintun and having a conversation would mean this.

Maiya raised a finger towards the two of them and said,

“Everyone, don’t move from your spots.”

“……”

Red droplets of blood were falling from the tip of her slender finger.

“I’m ready. You know what this means, right?”

“That’s a lie.”

Lenok cut her off sharply.

“Someone who is truly ready wouldn’t say such things, Maiya. It seems like the activation of the magic circle is taking time, isn’t it?”

Maiya didn’t respond to Lenok’s words. She merely twisted her lips into a sneer.

Lenok ignored her and quickly began to survey the surroundings.

It was clear that Maiya had arrived before them and was drawing a magic circle.

The fact that she was drawing the magic circle instead of waking Jintun even after arriving first meant that this was her original intention.

Lenok’s eyes flashed sharply as he checked the direction of the magic circle.

‘The direction of the magic circle doesn’t include Jintun. It’s not a spell aimed at the Ascendant himself. Then….’

What was she aiming for by drawing such a complex magic circle in the middle of Jintun’s cradle?

If it was a spell using her own blood as a medium, it would almost certainly be forbidden blood magic.

Blood magic activated using the blood of the Machine City’s top executor. Its effects and results were likely to be beyond what Lenok could imagine.

‘The direction and position are advantageous for Maiya. It’s impossible to move rashly.’

Lenok, having quickly grasped the situation, came up with a solution.

‘Forcefully disrupt it to create an opening.’

“The Machine City’s top executor is now cleaning up after Pandemonium, how the times have changed.”

Maiya’s shoulders twitched slightly, as she clearly hadn’t expected to hear such words from Lenok.

“You, you bastard… how….”

Maiya was unaware that Lenok had learned through his conversation with the Doctor that they were affiliated with Pandemonium.

That was because she had been busy fighting the gravity-manipulating esper [a person with psychic powers], Balak, while Lenok was talking to the Doctor.

Therefore, Lenok’s words were shaking Maiya more effectively than anything else.

“Did you bow down to a criminal organization to escape the failure of the Ascension Gate? That’s a surprisingly irresponsible decision considering your reputation.”

Maiya’s reaction, unable to take her eyes off Lenok’s face.

That alone was proof that his words were hitting her sore spot and were based on her strong principles.

“I wish Evelyn could have seen you here. Standing before the Ascendant, not even knowing what you want….”

Lenok smiled coldly at Maiya.

“No matter how long you live, you can’t undo the mistakes you’ve made.”

“…!!”

Maiya’s body briefly rose from her spot.

Proof that her reason was wavering enough to momentarily forget the magic circle she had been working on.

The failure of the Ascension Gate. Joining Pandemonium.

Although he didn’t know exactly what had happened in that process, it was clear that it was a significant matter for her.

But even so, Maiya gritted her teeth and slowly reached for the magic circle again.

“….Think what you want. Having come this far, my task is set.”

Was it that she had calmed her anger and regained her reason in that fleeting moment?

The composure of a superhuman who had lived as an executor for decades was not something to be underestimated.

Crack, crack…!!

The magic circle drawn on the floor vibrated greatly, and the blood painted on the circle began to rise.

Even Maiya’s drooping hair rose with it, and her eyes glowed red.

“I came here to correct that very mistake…!!”

[Blood Magic 8-Fold Deployment]

[One Child Arrives, Other Child Projected]

[Simplified Manifestation of the Ascension Gate]

[Reverse River Step]

Zzzzzzzzz!!

Unintelligible characters densely packed between the magic circles writhed, then rose above the circle and began to pile up something densely.

The red blood-stained characters rose above the magic circle, forming a large rectangular shape.

A shape like a huge door.

Beyond the huge blood door etched in the air, the scenery of the cradle was faintly distorted at that moment.

Lenok also swung his hand.

Swish!

The blood flowing from his wrist poured onto the blood magic circle that was forming the door.

Immediately after, the magic power contained in the blood activated, disrupting Maiya’s spell activation on the spot.

“…!!”

“As I suspected, it was a type of summoning spell to call someone.”

Lenok said, biting his thumb and drawing blood from his fingers once more.

He scattered the blood droplets flowing from his hand directly onto Maiya’s magic circle.

“I’ve roughly grasped the structure. I’ll dismantle that spell by reverse-engineering it from the root.”

“Evaaaan!!!”

The last magic recovery potion he had saved for emergencies.

With that potion consumed, he used the magic power contained in the scattered blood as a catalyst to reverse-engineer and dismantle Maiya’s blood magic.

Maiya’s spell, which had barely taken the form of a door, began to collapse.

Realizing that her plan had been ruined in an instant, Maiya stood up and kicked Lenok away.

Thud!!

“…!!”

Lenok, who was sent flying back dozens of meters without even being able to scream, gritted his teeth.

The pain felt like his internal organs were rupturing. It was surprising that she still had this much power left, but there was no time to think about it.

With a demonic expression, she rose from her spot and began to approach Lenok, drawing the blade from her waist.

“Tell me right now, how did you decipher the principles of the Ascension Gate!!!!”

“Uh… the teeth… are gone…. The part that’s… angry…!!”

Was she not angry about the spell being broken, but about the fact that the spell containing the principles of the Ascension Gate had been deciphered?

That one sentence contained all the reasons for how obsessed Maiya was with the failure of the Ascension Gate.

As Lenok fumbled inside his collar to grab an artifact with his trembling hand, and Maiya raised her blade.

Crack!!

A pillar of jewels that had risen from beneath Maiya’s feet pierced her shoulder.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t let that happen.”

The black magician Ermong, with a smiling face, formed a hand seal.

At the same time, the jewel pillar that had pierced Maiya’s shoulder exploded.

KABOOOOM!!

“Aaaack…!!”

Maiya, unable to even scream properly, was sent flying.

Continuous battles and races. At the end of her exhausted mind and body, only her will remained, burning.

Ermong looked at Maiya and then supported Lenok’s shoulder, helping him to his feet.

“It’s fortunate that she didn’t seem to have much interest in Jintun himself. Thanks to that, I was able to seize an opportunity.”

“….What exactly are you trying to do?”

“Looking at Zaikigis’s condition, it seems my plan is likely to be scrapped.”

Ermong said with a wide smile.

When he smiled like that with Jaun’s snake-like features, it naturally created a sinister smile.

“I thought that once I took the Ascendant’s body, I wouldn’t have to worry about what came next, but the situation has changed a lot, hasn’t it?”

“So, you’re going to earn some points in advance in preparation for when we leave the labyrinth?”

“At this rate, this friend’s body won’t last long anyway.”

Ermong shrugged, casually mentioning Jaun’s limitations.

“In that case, I think it would be better to get what we can from Zaikigis and then cooperate to escape this labyrinth.”

“……”

Was he planning to stick with Lenok during the escape from the labyrinth to ensure his safety?

Lenok didn’t immediately respond to his words, instead shaking off his support and standing on his own two feet.

Ermong, unfazed by Lenok’s reaction, approached Jintun and muttered.

“First, I need to think about how to wake Jintun. Actually, I thought he would have already woken up the moment I changed the melody of the Creation Stone….”

“He’s too exhausted to wake up just by changing the song.”

The one who answered was neither Lenok nor Maiya.

“A very long time has passed…. It was too long a time to get an answer.”

The moment they noticed, the being was walking past them, almost brushing against them.

A distance so close that they could feel his breath. The speed felt infinitely slow, yet also too fast to perceive.

Crash!!

Crimson blood droplets scattered like rain, falling from above as something shattered.

The white space of the cradle was filled with a rain of blood. The half-destroyed, collapsed door of the spell was half-open.

“He must have remembered the promise we made a long time ago.”

Amidst the falling rain of blood, he said that, calmly looking down at Jintun’s face.

As if he had no interest in the presence of Lenok and Ermong standing behind him.

“A far-fetched promise that wouldn’t be strange to forget… did it touch his heart and make him decide? Either way, his will deserves to be respected.”

The being muttered indifferently, then turned to look at the two of them without a word.

Although he clearly had a human form, his face could not be clearly discerned.

It was as if the information entering their minds was not being properly converted, like there was noise. It was a strange scene, as if there was an error in the value that the being was outputting to the world, not that Lenok’s senses were malfunctioning.

But instead of raising his magic power against the suddenly appearing intruder, Lenok slowly stepped back, sweating profusely.

Because he had definitely heard this voice echoing in his ears before.

The message that had been directly conveyed through the ability of the Demon Realm’s herald, Agneta, back then.

He still clearly remembered that ambiguous voice that couldn’t distinguish between a man and a woman, an old person and a child.

“Then I, too, have no choice but to respond.”

At the being’s whispered words, Lenok gritted his teeth and muttered.

“Pandemonium…!!!!”

A criminal organization that was one of the most powerful on the continent. The head of a group where all sorts of monsters gathered to form a demon realm.

The leader of Pandemonium, who had been shrouded in all sorts of mysteries and veils.

On the opposite side of the lighthouse keeper. The being closest to the truth of this world in some way was standing before Lenok’s eyes.

Kugugugugugu…!!!

Immediately after, an immense pressure of magic power pressed down on the two of them.

“Kuhak!!”

“….Power!!”

In this situation where their magic power was depleted, the pressure was so heavy that even a shred of resistance was impossible. No, even if their condition had been perfect, would they have been able to withstand it for long?

The opponent was the one at the top of the demon realm, who commanded monsters like Kraken and Myeong.

It was impossible to even predict the extent of his power and potential.

Lenok, realizing that he might not be able to survive this place if he made a wrong move, bit his lip as he lay on the floor.

‘Damn it, not in a place like this…!!’

While quickly checking the artifacts and escape methods in his possession in one corner of his mind, he found himself unable to understand the situation itself.

If a big shot like the leader of the demon realm had walked directly into the labyrinth, there was no way that Lapis wouldn’t have sensed his presence.

Lenok himself had been constantly checking the faces of his competitors while sniping from the snowy mountains to prepare for any possible variables.

That much, the leader’s presence was a fatal matter that could overturn the situation that had been going on until now.

The leader, who had instantly slammed Lenok and Ermong to the floor, stroked his chin and muttered.

“But I didn’t expect only Maiya to be here. I asked the Doctor to connect the transcendent to the world’s cause, but….”

“So that’s why the demon realm got involved….”

Lenok muttered, his shoulders trembling.

“Someone had to make contact with the Ascendant once for you to reach this place…!!”

“Normally, I wouldn’t use such a cumbersome method.”

The leader looked down at Lenok and answered.

“For me, who is only allowed to walk backward while looking back at the path I’ve taken, this was the widest path.”

The question of why only Maiya Renslit from Pandemonium had entered the labyrinth was now answered.

If they had intended to explore the Ascendant’s relics or confirm his life or death, they should have deployed more forces than they had now.

Instead, the reason they had asked only Maiya to break through the labyrinth was that anyone could make contact with the Ascendant without much difference.

If someone were to see Jintun’s appearance even once, the leader would be able to ride the flow and reach the transcendent.

“It’s not a big deal even if things have turned out this way. As long as I can reach Jintun, the process doesn’t matter much.”

The leader glanced down at Lenok and Ermong, then began to walk towards the sleeping Jintun.

At that moment, Ermong, who had been groaning until now, began to let out a sinister laugh.

“That unusual behavior… that unique way of existing… I think I know who you are.”

“….”

The leader, upon hearing those words, paused slightly but did not stop walking.

Ermong, also not paying any attention, continued to speak.

“There was a being like you hundreds of years ago. No, you were probably still alive back then, waiting for the end, weren’t you?”

Ermong, barely lifting his face, grinned.

“Zaikigis… a pitiful man. In the end, you decided to entrust everything to a lacking senior. It’s a shame. Miracles never come twice.”

“I am here now to change that predetermined ending.”

The leader answered calmly, slowly placing his hand on Jintun’s shoulder.

“I… know it too. That in the end, all of this might end up as a futile struggle. The reason given to me might have already lost its meaning a long time ago.”

The leader’s thinly spread fingers moved over his shoulder and towards Jintun’s back.

Towards the thousands of pipe lines that were firmly attached to his body.

“Wait, what are you trying to do…!! Don’t tell me!”

The moment Lenok realized what the leader was about to do, his face changed completely.

“But even if this world is not the one I loved, I will at least stop the moment when everything is thrown into the whirlpool of the outer sea and disappears.”

Zzzzzzzzz…!!

The moment he used force to tear off the pipes connected to Jintun’s back, a massive amount of energy leaked out and burst through the space of the cradle.

There was no need to mention how powerful and deadly the energy contained within the machinery used to maintain the Ascendant’s body and life was.

But the leader received the energy leaking from the pipes and tore off the pipes connected to Jintun’s back.

“That is the only repayment I can make, as someone who was saved by the world.”

Crack!!

He used force to tear off the mass of pipes attached to Jintun’s back all at once.

The blood and flesh torn from his back scattered into the air, spraying hot blood.

The Ascendant’s body, so frail that it seemed like he would stop breathing at any moment.

The very moment he destroyed the machinery that was maintaining his life.

Jintun opened his eyes.

* * *

Lenok was looking at someone.

A child playing with pebbles. A child who didn’t seem to be even five years old.

The child, who had laid out a few stones on the ground and drawn a circle, smiled awkwardly.

He turned his head.

The appearance of a matured boy. An impressive appearance with flowing blonde hair.

He drew a circle with a twig in his hand and filled it with unknown symbols.

The boy, having completed a rather plausible barrier, smiled contentedly.

He turned his head.

The appearance of a young man who had aged considerably.

He poured magic power into the ground with a staff in one hand.

A high-level barrier that even Lenok could see was completed in an instant, covering the young man.

The young man smiled proudly.

He turned his head.

The young man no longer aged.

But the level of the barriers he created only increased exponentially.

Beyond the level that Lenok could recognize, transcending systems, ignoring attributes, and interfering with space-time.

Transcending the mysteries of the barrier arts that existed in the world, he completed his own system entirely.

The young man no longer smiled.

Time passed.

An immeasurable amount of time passed, and the young man who did not age gradually changed into a middle-aged man, and then into an old man.

During the long time it took for a superhuman who had already reached the pinnacle to show signs of aging, the barrier arts did not develop much.

He only focused on constantly supplementing the lacking parts and building up its substance.

More time passed.

Every time he turned his head and shifted his gaze to the side, he saw the figure of a man exploring the barrier arts in different timelines.

Over dozens, over hundreds… until the moment he finally reached the end after walking for that immeasurably long time.

The man was always looking down, gazing at his feet.

Looking back, the fact that he was looking down at something was something he was more than familiar with.

The joy of watching the scenery of the small world he had created was no longer felt.

Perhaps the barrier arts were a small imitation of what God does.

That might be why the man, and no one else, had gained the qualifications to challenge the Ascension.

If one were to reach the pinnacle by imitating what God does, then in the end, that could be called another God.

Of course, the man was not a god, nor did he want to become one.

But his existence as a transcendent who had cast off causality might have been enough to make him look like a god in the eyes of others.

There was no resentment or regret about that fact.

However, if there was anything he wanted to convey, even belatedly now-

Click, click.

At the very end of the timeline where hundreds of men were lined up.

A frail old man with a pale complexion was sitting with his back bent, without a word.

Unlike the other men who had been playing with the barrier arts until now, what the old man was touching was a small game board.

The game board with its striking black and white checkered pattern looked somehow similar to what Lenok knew.

Lenok stared at the old man’s figure for a while, then slowly walked towards him.

He sat down opposite the old man, with the game board between them.

Then, the hundreds of men who had been concentrating on the barrier arts as if Lenok didn’t exist all raised their heads at once and began to look at Lenok.

The old man, who had not raised his head until then, slowly lifted his eyes and looked at Lenok, grinning.

“Would you like to play a game?”

Lenok smiled and nodded.

“Of course, Zaikigis.”