Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 410

Screech…!! The iron gate in the middle of the old wall opened, and two headlights pierced the darkness. Slowly, the wheels rolled, revealing a massive bike. Though the darkness obscured the rider, it was clear that only one person was on it. A tense silence hung in the air. At the end of the race, Lenox, arriving at the Grimoire gang’s headquarters for the first time, silently surveyed his surroundings. ‘It’s brutal.’ This was a violent organization that controlled two outer districts of the mega-city. It was only natural that their organization and brutality were exceptional compared to other underground forces. The endless barbed wire and the gruesome sight of corpses hanging like laundry between them clearly showed what kind of place the gang was. Gang members on vehicles and structures studded with thorns and spikes. The blood-caked cement floor and the limbs of someone sticking out of a trash can swarming with flies. Hundreds of gang members, who had committed all these atrocities with their own hands, were staring intently at Lenox alone. Hundreds of gazes, their eyes filled with eerie, pale ghost lights, illuminated the darkness as if possessed. As Lenox looked around at the glowing eyes, someone sitting on a scratched truck asked, “Where are the others?” [None.] A chilling voice came from behind the visor. Lenox replied. [It’s just me.] “…So, you’re the only one who survived to the race’s destination?” [I heard an interesting story.] Lenox completely ignored the man’s question and said. [That the gang was secretly colluding with other participants and interfering with the race.] “……” [It’s true that some unpleasant things happened in the process of confirming that fact.] Lenox muttered with a sneer, arms crossed. [They’re probably rolling around with glazed eyes among the drug dust by now.] “This bastard…” There wasn’t a single member here who didn’t know exactly what Lenox had done. Apart from causing chaos during the race, he had stirred up and destroyed the outer districts he had passed through, and the aftermath was serious. Just thinking about cleaning up this mess, where other competitors were eliminated and chaos was caused in various areas, was enough to give the gang a headache. Meanwhile, Lenox’s nonchalant attitude, as if it wasn’t his problem, was not something the gang members were used to. The moment other enraged members were about to get up from their seats with their weapons, a thunderous voice fell from behind them. “I regret that the participants were harmed by baseless rumors about the race.” Screech…! The huge iron gate, hidden in the darkness, opened, and a man of enormous stature began to look down at Lenox. Flaming red hair. Tattoos covering his entire body and a muscular physique. Even the boiling, low-grade magic power. Clang, clang!! The blood-soaked greatsword, loosely hanging at his waist, made a loud noise as it swung with each step. Not a single element of his body went unnoticed. The explosive force emanating from his massive frame. The sight of other members naturally bowing their heads. Who would doubt that this man was the leader who had led the Grimoire gang to where they were now? The man, standing on an old support that allowed him to look down at the other members at a glance, said, “I will take responsibility by beheading all those who interfered with the participants in this matter and displaying their heads.” [Responsibility, you say.] The man grinned at Lenox’s words. At the same time, he lightly nodded towards the countless corpses rotting on the barbed wire. “That’s the least we can do to mourn the other dropouts we have to clean up ourselves today.” […I see.] After a moment, Lenox, who understood the meaning of those words, laughed in disbelief. [If others don’t come in before sunrise, are you planning to kill all the other participants except me to silence them?] The man didn’t answer anymore. He just stared intently at Lenox with a heavy gaze. Lenox, understanding that there was a meaning of affirmation in that silence, also slightly turned his body to the side. [That’s not a satisfactory answer. More importantly, there’s something you should say to me first, isn’t there?] “This bastard, how long are you going to keep talking back…!!” The moment one of the members standing next to Lenox couldn’t hold back and raised a studded club. Bang!! With a sudden gunshot, the head of the man holding the club disappeared. Thud!! “…!!” A headless corpse fell, dripping hot blood. The other members silently swallowed their breaths. It wasn’t just because Lenox had killed one of their members. It was because not a single person in this place had properly seen the moment he drew his gun and shot the man’s head off. [Thinking about it, it was strange.] Lenox opened his mouth as he slowly drove his bike through the suddenly quiet members. [Not only are you giving out city government supplies as race rewards, but you’re also giving useful artifacts to those who rank high. If this has been happening regularly, it should have become a rumor.] “What are you trying to say?” [I’m saying that this race isn’t just an event to line up a hundred people and determine their superiority.] “……” As he slowly walked through the darkness where he couldn’t see an inch ahead, only the voice of a mage continued to echo. [A night race that starts around midnight. Gathering about a hundred people and forcing all participants to pass through checkpoints, and they have to return before dawn… A race that starts with only the start and end points defined, instead of rules about cheating, judging, or dropouts.] Lenox laughed. [Doesn’t it feel like a single spell that is completed by participating in a large-scale ritual?] The gang’s attitude, which seemed to value the process more than the result of the race, was strange. The series of circumstances that seemed to be clearly linked to Madrich Onion. If you bring the keyword ‘military order’ to the reasons and grounds for actions that don’t quite fit, you can understand it. The fact that all the things that have been happening so far are established very simply under a single assumption. [I know that a similar ritual existed a long time ago. A plan to gather all the spirits and ghosts of this world to build a bridge to ascension… It feels like a miniature version of that.] Lenox, who had slowly moved his steps to stop in front of the man, said. [It would be very appropriate to call it the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons.] “…Hoo.” The man, who let out a soft sigh, quietly looked up at the sky. “Why did a bastard who knows that much get involved in this?” He scratched his head in annoyance, and slowly walked out of the darkness, muttering in a vexed tone. Kooong!! At the same time, a huge greatsword was dragged out from his other hand. Cumbersome rings and chains were hanging between the blades, and rotten flesh and blood were visible between them. The man, who placed the fly-infested greatsword on his shoulder, looked down at Lenox and said. “If you had said that in front of the other participants, I would have had to kill them all. It’s the same even if you didn’t win this race. I don’t know if I should say you’re lucky or stupid.” [What do you mean?] “The reason our gang holds races… It’s been a long time since it was properly fulfilled.” Faaaat!! At the same time, the inside of the wall, which had been submerged in darkness, lit up brightly, revealing its true form. Intense spotlights hanging on the wall pillars. Huge amounts of light, like those used to illuminate a huge stadium at night, shone in all directions. It revealed the figures of hundreds of people surrounding Lenox at once. The sight of dozens of armored vehicles studded with iron thorns and spikes, and countless gang members on top of them looking down at Lenox. The equipment and attire they held were diverse, but the cold murderous intent emanating from them made Lenox’s neck tingle. It was also clear that not all of the hundreds of people were top-tier transcendents [individuals with supernatural abilities], but there were quite a few military-grade individuals mixed in. The man who raised his blood-stained greatsword in front of Lenox and the emaciated sorcerer hanging on the iron wall were even 7-level transcendents. The Grimoire gang’s power, which satisfied both quantity and quality to the point where the word ‘overwhelmed by numbers’ was awkward. The man at the forefront of the gang, the gang’s boss, said. “It’s been a long time since we’ve seen someone stand out so much in a race. It’s more than enough to be a new candidate for military order.” [A new military order, you say.] Lenox laughed. Because he realized that there was no need to confirm anything further, now that he had heard that word from the boss’s mouth. The reason why the Grimoire gang had been hosting irregular races with city government supplies as rewards. It was to welcome outstanding participants as new military orders through a ritual of the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons, imitating the Night Parade of a Myriad Ghosts [a Japanese folklore concept]. The moment he heard directly from the Grimoire boss that all these things that had happened so far were only to add new power to the military order sorcerer they served. Lenox slowly threw off the visor he was wearing. “The fact that you’re saying that means you’re also one of Madrich’s military orders.” “…What?” “The head of the judiciary is now using underground criminals as military orders, that’s very interesting information.” Lenox smiled as he looked up at the boss’s stiffened face. “If I catch you and dig into the details, I might be able to find out where Madrich Onion is hiding. Don’t you think?” “It’s him!!” Someone who had been carefully examining Lenox’s face let out a scream. “I, I’ve seen his face before…!! It’s him, it’s definitely Kyunroe…!!” “Kyunroe? The one from District 49?” “A bloodthirsty mage participated in this race!” Despite the shouts of someone from an unknown source, the Grimoire gang members quickly understood the fact and took action. A being who had overwhelmingly crushed other participants and won victory in a race with over a hundred transcendents. This abnormal result, which had never happened even once during the race, conversely convinced them that the opponent was Kyunroe. A madman obsessed with blood and battle. A slaughterer of the underworld who scatters death wherever he goes. An iron man who leaves no witnesses from the moment he appears. It was impossible to produce such a result in a race unless it was a monster with that kind of reputation and skill. If the reason for the unacceptable result was due to Lenox’s existence, there was no need to doubt it any further. The armored vehicles and trucks that had been surrounding Lenox started their engines and charged forward. At the same time, dozens of members on top of them unleashed their sharp murderous intent and magic power. “He’s a mage, we have to subdue him before he uses magic!!” “Kill him!! The boss said it’s okay to kill him!!” “Spread the net!! Scatter iron spikes and throw bombs!!” Kwaaa kwa kwa kwang!!! Sharp iron nets spread wide between the armored vehicles, and sharp iron spikes that hindered movement were scattered underfoot. Flaming bombs flew incessantly from above, spreading thick smoke, and then turned into a wave of flames with a huge explosion. And then, a dozen armored vehicles that had raced through the nets, spikes, and flames they had created, charged and crashed into the spot where Lenox had been. Kuuuuuung!! Just like when they had launched the first attack, they stopped all movement in an instant and fell silent. Shuuuuu…!! “D, did we get him?” “You crazy bastard!! If you say such unlucky things…!!” The moment the boss, who had been observing the whole scene from behind with his arms crossed, twitched his eyebrows. Whoosh!! The spotlights that had been brightly illuminating the plaza went out, and the entire area was plunged into deep darkness. “What, turn on the lights!!” “T, there are no lights…!!” “There are car headlights, you idiot!” Paat!! The headlights of the armored vehicles, which were huddled together, turned on, revealing a huge mass of carapace standing tall, blocking the hoods of a dozen armored vehicles. Lenox’s voice echoed through the fragments of the carapace, which boasted a hard and bizarre shape that was hard to believe was the shell of a living creature. “You’re using good vehicles for a gang.” “W, what?!” “If the headlights still work even after ramming their heads into this, it means they’re very sturdily designed.” Kkiririk!! With a sound like screws turning from somewhere, Lenox spoke again. “So much so that I want to take it apart myself.” [Vehicle structure analysis complete.] Davi mumbled, wiggling his front paws in Lenox’s arms. [35 categories. 433 types of identical parts. 52,215 individual parts, all assigned identification numbers.] Drdrdrdeuk!! All the armored vehicles that had rammed their heads into the carapace began to tremble faintly, and then slowly began to sink with their engines off. The drivers, flustered by the unknown, bizarre phenomenon, frantically pounded on their seats, but once the engine was off, it would not start again. Rather, a noise like unknown metal colliding inside the armored vehicles echoed and grew louder. [Reverse calculation of the design order predicted according to the algorithm. Starting complete disassembly of the vehicle.] Charrrrrrrrk!! “Uwaaaaaaaah!!” “What are you doing!! Hurry up and break through that and stop him!!” Kwaaaang!! The gang members on top of the vehicles quickly regained their senses and frantically pounded on the carapace mass, but there wasn’t a single scratch on its surface. Meanwhile, the shape of the vehicles with dozens of people on them collapsed, and the parts were disassembled one by one, beginning to shed the concept of an armored vehicle. Drdrdrdr!!! “C, crazy bastard…!!” “What are you doing right now…!!” The hoods, engines, car doors, basic frames, and wheel parts sank, while hundreds and thousands of screws fell out like they were flowing down and floated above their heads. Even the interior of the vehicles, including the seats, radiators, and gear levers, were disassembled to their limits and collapsed. The gang members, who had lost the shield of the armored vehicles that had protected them, fell to the ground in vain. Drrrrrrrk!! They could only look up at the thousands and tens of thousands of screw parts that were constantly being disassembled and floating above their heads with fear-filled eyes. The man let out a loud shout at the sight of the members, who were dominated by a sense of helplessness, unable to understand the opponent’s intentions or stop them. “What the hell are you doing!! Focus on removing the shield!!” “B, boss…!!” Kooong!! “If you can’t break through it, just push it away with force. Have you forgotten who should be bowing their heads right now!!” The boss, who had quickly sorted out the situation with a few words, clenched his greatsword and pulled up his magic power. “All the necessary rituals are over, so it’s okay to kill him!! Even if we make him a corpse, we can just process the spirit and take it!!” “Understood!!” It was true that the Grimoire gang’s boss had started muttering strange things since they had joined hands with high-ranking city officials. But no one was dissatisfied or questioned it. As a result, the gang had transformed into an organization that occupied two outer districts, and the members had also begun to enjoy rewards that were commensurate with that. For pleasure without responsibility, all that was needed was to hold races periodically according to the boss’s words, and to judge whether the winner was qualified or not. And when that requirement was met, all they had to do was follow the boss’s lead to the best of their ability. In the eyes of the members who were moving as if possessed by the man’s words, a pale film had already been placed without them even knowing it. The moment the members, moving in perfect unison according to the man’s words as if they had become a single collective, tried to push away the carapace and drag out the mage inside. [Phase Transition: Potential Resonance] [Magnetic Soul Curtain] [Iron Return Universal] The tens of thousands of screw parts of the armored vehicles that had been floating in the air and remained silent all at once wriggled, and then disappeared from their spots. Pa a a ang!! With a faint, small popping sound, the voices of the members who had been talking loudly in all directions suddenly stopped. “……” Drop, drop. Hot blood that mercilessly soaked the dirt floor. The bodies of the members who had been shouting curses and yells just a moment ago fell like puppets with their strings cut. Kuuung!! Their bodies, which had their heads buried in the ground and were faintly convulsing, had hundreds of large and small holes, forming countless dots. The gang’s boss, who had been scolding the members, also trembled his lips as he realized what had happened. “This, this can’t be…!!” The parts of the armored vehicles that had been disassembled in the air just a moment ago had not disappeared from their spots. They had only been shot at a speed that the gang members gathered here could not properly see, and had pierced through hundreds of members scattered in all directions. Disassembling tens of thousands of armored vehicle screw parts at once, temporarily giving all those parts the same magnetic polarity, and then repelling them to send them flying in all directions as if they were exploding. It was just using the property of magnetic force that repels the same poles, but if you add electromagnetic force with electric magic, its power would also increase exponentially. The unrealistic metal manipulation ability to steal the opponent’s means of transportation, disassemble it completely, and use it as bullets. Even though it wasn’t a speed that transcendents couldn’t react to, they couldn’t withstand the range that covered the entire area and the unexpected idea that pierced their blind spots. Even those who survived were screaming in pain, their entire bodies covered in blood. “It hurts, it hurts so much!!” “My legs, they won’t move…!! Save me…!!” Kooong!! A split carapace shield fell on top of the head of a gang member who was clutching his body with holes and screaming. Lenox, who had walked up onto the shield that had become a pool of blood without even screaming, looked around and frowned. “Using screws as bullets is less efficient than I thought. I need to be careful about overusing magnetization.” Even for Lenox, it was difficult to grab and manipulate tens of thousands of screw parts with magic power one by one. The only thing within his control was to spread an electric field over the area, apply magnetism, and then repel and amplify that magnetism to shoot it in all directions. Even though he had received help from Davi for the part disassembly calculation itself, he had not been able to control the direction of the repulsion one by one, so the result was not as good as expected. But the man who had witnessed all those atrocities in front of him could only take those words in a completely different way. “How can a human… do such a thing…!!” Reaching the 7th level of the Saintly Rank doesn’t mean becoming an incomprehensible monster. It’s about getting better at what you can do. Completing the cultivation and mental image that you have built up over time. What you face at the end of self-transformation that a human can reach is far from fear or ignorance. But what the man called Kyunroe had just shown was not the power of a completed transcendent or outstanding magic. A move that effortlessly pierced through the gaps in his thinking that he hadn’t been aware of, eliminating even the time to think. Could this be called power, this thing that overturned and trampled on the environment and war situation that had been absolutely advantageous for the gang just a moment ago? An idea that was so bizarre and overwhelming that even the criminals who had seen all sorts of ugly and dirty things in the underworld could not understand. The man, who had lost his words as he looked at the mage in front of him, who seemed as if he had never been bound by the concept of humans and hierarchy from the beginning. Lenox, who had grabbed a handful of screws and walked forward, smiled and muttered. “I’ll try to be a bit more skillful this time. I need to keep one of your mouths alive to call your master.”