Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 424

A confession that came out of nowhere.

Lenox paused, taken aback by Madrich’s words, who had spoken the name so casually in this place.

“……!!”

“At least two. There are those who call themselves that. Seekers with wisdom comparable to Ascended beings, constantly watching this world and searching for a path to the next…”

Fzzzt…!!!

At that moment, an intense noise erupted, engulfing Madrich’s body and instantly silencing him.

A cacophony of sound poured forth, cutting off any further words.

A wry smile touched his lips as he looked down at his own body, a hint of surprise in his expression.

“I knew it would be like this. If the seal was a knot that could be undone by its own power, the project’s secrets would have reached the central front long ago.”

“Madrich……”

“Using the military order to share the penalty was just a game they allowed me. I lasted a long time.”

Zzzzzzt!!!

The noise, now consuming his throat, instantly devoured and extinguished his limbs.

Having consumed his body below the neck, it quickly covered Madrich’s face.

Madrich, watching his body disappear, turned his gaze towards the sea, saying nothing more.

“Once, I believed that a new world existed beyond that sea.”

“……”

“Perhaps, the time I spent aimlessly searching for the end of the world… might have been the answer I most desperately wanted…”

Fwoooosh!!

He vanished into a puff of foam.

With the collapse of the military order mage’s body, his presence was gone.

Lenox stared blankly at the scene, struggling to stand.

Knowing that circumventing the seal in this way was useless, was he waiting for him just to ask and convey one answer?

Where in his life did that transcendent will and conviction accumulate and become complete?

Lenox himself, whom Madrich admired, was still constantly wavering and agonizing.

“Still…”

He felt powerless.

The secrets of Alcaide, the failure of the project, the destruction of the central city.

Understanding and realization continued to grow, but there were still many areas beyond Lenox’s reach.

Where was the standard for the answer to the next step to be complete?

It was something that only he, who had taken one step further, must acknowledge and accept, not anyone else.

Whether he was ready or not was still unknown.

He just had to believe in himself and take a step forward.

Even the courage to face the result was part of the answer.

Madrich Onion, despite being defeated by a young, inexperienced mage and having everything he stood for denied, did not forget his initial resolve.

Even if his strength were to run out here, he believed that someone would carry on the answer and entrust the next step to them.

It was different from what Lenox had thought, but that was why he could understand and accept his feelings.

“……”

He faced the horizon that Madrich had been looking at until the moment he disappeared.

Recalling the end of the dream he had envisioned, Lenox slowly raised his hand.

At the same time as his magic power rotated, the seven hierarchies within him shook and surged greatly.

Fzzzzzt!!!!

They struggled to move higher.

The moment his horizon of thought expanded, he learned more, and the truth he didn’t want to know unfolded before his eyes.

He knew from the beginning how far he could reach.

At that moment, a blue light began to spread like a tidal wave across the sandy beach as the sun rose.

The blue light, which burned so brightly that it was observed even in Vulcan and recorded as an anomaly, disappeared only after a full half-day had passed.

* * *

Tick, tick.

The sound of an old grandfather clock moving its second hand.

Even that small noise echoed loudly like thunder in this quiet space.

A darkened space where no light was allowed except for a faint ray of sunlight coming through the window, even in the middle of the day.

A quiet cough echoed through it.

“Onion is gone.”

“He was a passionate friend.”

Scattered, subdued voices barely echoed enough to form a conversation.

“Looking back, it was a wise decision to entrust the judicial system to that friend.”

“Even if you praise yourself, the fact that the personnel department is a mess doesn’t change.”

“It’s been well over 10 years since it left my hands.”

The voice, after taking a breath, contained a faint sneer.

“It’s not like the fools’ blunders hitting the cradle are a new thing, is it?”

“He deserves to be honored just for not falling apart after the project failed. Shall we have a drink in memory of that friend after a long time?”

“Hey, stop with the useless talk and get to the point. The stench is mixed in and stings my nose. It’s hard to stay here for long.”

“I believe your great-grandson had a son over 10 years ago, what are you talking about…”

He joked in a light tone, but the magic power that permeated the quiet chamber was exceptionally neat.

An absolute sanctuary that did not allow any impurities or interference.

The barriers and security magic that hid and protected this place where they gathered were enough to cover a medium-sized city.

The Upper House of the Central Council, which handled all administrative affairs of the mega-city.

Among them, the old monsters who had held the position of councilor for decades and reigned at the center of power had gathered in one place due to the death of Madrich Onion.

“Cough…!! It seems the air is not good after visiting the conference hall after a long time.”

“How can you be so negligent in cleaning just because old people don’t visit often?”

They joked casually, but the person in charge of managing this conference room would not be able to set foot in the city again from today.

The way the senators had been handling things for decades was extremely cold, and their attendants also understood that fact to the bone.

“The mage that Onion was fighting, was his name Gyeon-ryoe? Send me the information on that friend.”

“Oh, are you now interested in looking into the affairs of the lower ones?”

“He may be old, but he was a friend who used to work with us.”

The voice flipping through papers replied.

“If he stepped on that friend to rise, it also means he can replace that friend. We’ve always done that.”

“I know there is a councilor in the Lower House who is in close contact with a child named Gyeon-ryoe. I think he belongs to the Board of Audit.”

“It will be easier to talk. Call him separately later.”

The head of the judicial system and an 8-level military order mage who served as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

He was undoubtedly a great transcendent and a great figure, but at one time, they were also designers who discussed the future with him on an equal footing.

Being aware of and dealing with the empty space rather than the past death was nothing more than an old habit of the elders.

While the councilors were muttering and talking among themselves, an old man in the innermost corner, who had been silent, opened his mouth.

“I have been contacted by an old acquaintance since Onion’s death was confirmed.”

“What, did we really gather to talk about work?”

“Aren’t we all like kites with broken strings now? We didn’t intervene when the seal was lifted, are we going to pretend to work now?”

From the point when the city began to swell on its own without any need for intervention, the responsibility of leading the city had long turned into fatigue and burden.

In this era where only tension continued after the war, no one had time to waste on useless honor.

For those who had lived for a goal and mission greater than themselves, all that remained now was aimless regret and ennui.

Time flowed and everything changed.

At one time, they may have dedicated themselves to positively leading that change, but even that dedication had long since turned into a neglect bordering on corruption.

“So, who did you get in touch with that you’re making such a fuss about?”

“Gye-baek [界魄].”

Silence fell.

It was not because they did not understand the answer just now, but rather because they knew it too well.

“……I didn’t know that monster still had intelligence. Can we call shouting at a natural disaster a form of communication?”

“Watch your words. To call a transcendent who challenged ascension a monster…”

Gye-baek [界魄], a 9-level Ascended being.

Even with the senator’s words that he had directly contacted an Ascended being, no one welcomed the answer.

Not all Ascended beings challenged ascension with superior intelligence and perfect ideals.

Just as qualifications are not always given only to suitable vessels and talents.

There were also those who had lost themselves in uncontrollable power and authority, and had crossed the hierarchy as if being chased by the annihilation of their existence.

And the Ascended being called Gye-baek was by far the worst failure in the history of the continent.

A natural disaster that lost even the human intellect and body that was born and given, and scattered only that power that had transcended its limits throughout the continent.

The senators also knew well how futile all attempts to give meaning to the transcendent power that had lost its purpose had become.

“He’s a monster that devours civilization. He’s a friend who works in a completely opposite area from us.”

“It’s ridiculous that he contacted us. I never imagined he would have a cell phone hidden in that dark swamp.”

Even as sarcastic remarks were heard from all sides, the person who first raised the topic did not budge.

“You know that Onion was directly receiving orders from the Council of Elders.”

“……”

“It seems that someone from the Council of Elders moved Gye-baek. They directly announced matters related to him. It’s not something to just laugh off.”

The sarcastic remarks stopped at once.

The Council of Elders.

Beyond the hierarchy of the council, a small number of meritorious subjects who had been involved since the city was first created.

They had all laid down their nameplates and were now in seclusion, but their names and influence had not gone anywhere.

Even those who held key positions among the senators could not directly contact the Council of Elders.

“Even if it’s the Council of Elders, to be able to move an Ascended being… I heard it from your mouth, but I can’t believe it.”

“If Gye-baek really started moving, we can’t just stand by and watch. But why now?”

If Onion was acting on the orders of the Council of Elders, and things became difficult with his death, it was natural for the Council of Elders to be displeased.

But no one could understand why the series of events would lead to moving a mad Ascended being.

“It seems they thought that in order to continue the purpose of the project that friend was working on, it was necessary to move such a big figure… I don’t know the details either.”

“Ahem… So, which city is that monster heading to?”

It was not a very satisfactory answer, but that was not the important thing.

If Gye-baek was advancing towards another city at the call of the Council of Elders, shouldn’t the direction of the current regime be drastically revised accordingly?

It was not pleasant to be played by the schemes of those who were no longer in public office, but everyone knew that uncontrollable chaos could easily lead to war.

However, the voice that first called Gye-baek’s name denied all those possibilities.

“It’s not a city. I heard he’s heading to the Well of the Codex.”

“……!!!”

The senators, who realized the meaning, were startled and jumped up for the first time.

The name of a place that even the old monsters, who had not been greatly shaken even at the moment they heard the name of the Ascended being, could not help but be shocked by.

The Well of the Codex was also a kind of ideological territory where another Ascended being resided.

“Not everyone wants a happy ideal and survival. Some may just want to see the world collapse.”

The voice muttered in a somber tone.

“It seems the Council of Elders wants to see the war of the Ascended beings before the end comes.”