Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 431

As the cult leader spoke, Lenok’s consciousness, which had been flowing along with Amila’s memories, also awakened.

At the same time, he was startled.

“……!!!”

Goosebumps rose on his skin.

Lenok wasn’t directly looking into Amila’s memories.

He was forcibly reproducing the images that sprang from the deepest part of her mind by randomly bombarding her head with magical power and electrical signals.

Strictly speaking, this scene wasn’t even Amila’s memory, but merely a blurry afterimage.

Yet, a fragment of memory that should have been just that was recognizing an observer beyond its own existence and speaking to him.

That simple act gave Lenok a stronger sense of alarm than anything else.

The cult leader smiled subtly, as if understanding Lenok’s feelings.

“Huhu… There’s no need to be so afraid. As you can see, we in this memory have no power.”

‘…….’

As he said, no energy could be felt from the cult leader’s body sitting in the center of the pure white palace.

This scene was, after all, an image created based on Amila’s memories.

Amila Bainzer as a child knew how great the cult leader was, but she couldn’t have known how powerful a monster he was.

Perhaps it was because she had only glimpsed his face while mixed among tens of thousands of believers, but the cult leader’s face appeared blurry, just like the other people in her memory.

Only the faint halo shining behind him showed how Amila had thought of him.

“Come closer to me. We don’t have much time. I want to enjoy this strange coincidence for a moment…”

Lenok’s body was not here, and he was merely experiencing this memory as if watching a screen through a camera.

Then, where was the cult leader looking when he spoke to Lenok?

However, he didn’t seem to care about such facts.

As if the camera was slowly zooming in, the focus shifted from the tens of thousands of believers to the cult leader.

Even when the distance was narrowed and magnified, his blurry face did not become clear.

Unlike the sculptures depicting the magnificent ends of the outer sea, the ornate decorations, and the majestic form of the pantheon [a temple dedicated to all gods], only the cult leader’s face remained as blurry as if it had been erased with a brush.

The cult leader stared at Lenok and slowly leaned back in his chair.

“I guess you’re curious how this is possible.”

‘…….’

“It’s simple. The memory in this image is also myself… From the moment I am recognized as the master of the cult, this fragment is also myself.”

The cult leader chuckled and continued.

“It doesn’t matter which timeline or which world it is. The moment I recognize and identify myself, I become myself and not myself at the same time…”

The cult leader’s explanation was both incomprehensible and seemingly understandable.

Was it the meaning that the moment he was recognized and accepted as the cult leader, he would become aware of his ego and gain a perception beyond reality?

A definition and way of existence that could not be understood by the common sense of ordinary humans, like a concept.

Could something that exists and is defined in such a way even be called the same life form?

But even so, Lenok recognized himself accepting the words somewhere in his heart and naturally asked.

‘Is that… something you’re saying is possible for a human?’

The image could not be conveyed through words. But the cult leader nodded as if he had understood Lenok’s question.

“Because I am certain. No one can have a larger ego than me. In every timeline, I have existed longer than anyone else, and I will go mad before anyone else.”

‘…Go mad? You’re already…?’

A declaration that could not be ignored. But what did it mean that he was stating it as if he were prophesying it himself?

The cult leader closed his eyes. No, he couldn’t see his face, but Lenok could tell.

“Amila, that child, was smart enough to recognize my existence correctly, but her sensory organs were not mature enough to fully realize me… But that’s why we can communicate in the form of a conversation like this.”

‘…….’

“Just as we look back on the past and say, ‘It was like that back then,’ it is possible because we are facing ourselves in the form of recollection.”

‘…….’

“Perhaps in your timeline, the real me is already… Huhu.”

The cult leader trailed off with a strange laugh.

Even though he didn’t say anything specific, the meaning behind his words felt incredibly ominous.

The cult leader as remembered by Amila in her childhood. He could only take the form of a conversation with the cult leader in the moment of recalling the past and relatively faded memories.

He still didn’t feel any power or presence from him.

Rather, because of that, Lenok could realize more clearly than anyone else how absurdly transcendent the cult leader was.

The leader of a group that gathered over millions of believers to worship the gods of the outer sea. Even facing the image in his memory and hearing his thoughts was not easy.

He was said to be a monster who possessed knowledge and power comparable to an Ascendant [a being of immense power], yet constantly paid attention to the mundane world.

He understood perfectly in this place that those words were not wrong in the slightest.

While thinking that he would never be able to understand the being smiling in front of him, Lenok hid his fear and asked.

‘Do you really think that worshiping the end of the outer sea as gods and praising them is the right answer?’

The cult leader did not answer.

Lenok asked again.

‘What do you want to do by gathering the consciousness and beliefs of this world?’

“Originally, a more dramatic meeting would have awaited us…”

The cult leader murmured in a weak voice.

“Due to the machinations of omniscience, it has been disrupted. It’s unfortunate, but I think this isn’t so bad either.”

‘…….’

A strange tone that made it impossible to guess his intentions.

The cult leader had called Lenok because he had something to say to him, but he had no intention of listening to Lenok’s words.

As he said, it was a form of communication that barely managed to take the form of a conversation.

Was that all this transcendent being wanted to convey to him?

“We still have a few more chances left… And one of them is already right in front of us.”

The cult leader smiled.

At that moment, the tens of thousands of believers who had been marching in the festival as if the two of them were not there, burst into laughter at the same time.

[Hahahahahahaha.]

Only the voices of tens of thousands of people laughing at the same time echoed over the sky of the pure white pantheon.

Amidst the chilling and eerie laughter, the believers simultaneously turned their heads with a creak towards Lenok.

The sound of laughter vibrated as if it would burst his eardrums. But the cult leader’s quiet voice was heard more clearly than ever.

“I won’t have high expectations… The snake guarding the well has been consumed by its attachment, and no one will remember their mission.”

Kugugugugu!!

At that moment, the magnificent palace in the memory began to crack and collapse from the floor.

Tens of thousands of believers fell into the endless cracks, constantly bursting into laughter.

As Amila’s memory was coming to an end, this image was also disappearing without maintaining its proper form.

Perhaps it was because the memory of the cult leader she had seen in her childhood ended at this point.

The cult leader smiled faintly, as if looking at Lenok beyond an invisible camera.

“But if this incident can buy us even a little bit of time… perhaps the day we finally join hands might be near.”

‘What the hell are you trying to say…!’

Thump!!

The pure white palace. The central part where dozens of statues stood collapsed, and Lenok’s consciousness also sank below the floor.

Amidst the collapsing palace of memory, the cult leader was just sitting there until the end, along with the destruction of the world.

For some reason, that image seemed to resemble somewhere the purpose the cult leader desired.

The cult leader watched the screen of Lenok, which was moving further and further away, until the end and said.

‘The day we meet again is not far away. Until then… take good care of yourself.’

Faaaaaaat!!

At that moment, Lenok’s consciousness quickly escaped from the deepest part of Amila’s memory fragments and rose upward.

He quickly passed through the memories she had strongly recognized throughout her life, captured the most recent image, and restored it.

The scene of Amila and the priests preparing the ritual outside the city under someone’s orders.

The moment he stabbed the hearts of the priests lying outside a cave with a knife and formed a hand seal.

Whoosh!!

“Haa…!!”

Lenok, who had been ejected from Amila’s head as if it were a lie, staggered slightly and stood up.

“Evan!”

Kasia supported Lenok’s staggering body and caught him.

“What, did you really go and see something inside me?”

Amila, who had been lying down and staring at him, smiled slyly.

“It’s really unsettling. Whatever you saw, it probably wasn’t a pleasant memory.”

“Haa, haa…!!”

Amila didn’t know.

That Lenok had just met the cult leader’s consciousness directly during the restoration process of the countless memories he had stirred up in her head.

Lenok, who barely managed to regain his senses with trembling eyes, quickly organized what he had to do.

Thinking about the message left by the cult leader was something for later.

Rather, it was more important to investigate the scene Lenok had seen at the end.

Click!!

Lenok pulled out his pistol, aimed it at Amila’s temple, and asked in a cold tone.

“You guys, this body wasn’t your main body.”

“…….”

Amila was silent for a moment at the unexpected assertion, and Kasia’s eyes widened.

“You’re not afraid of death, but you were scheming outside the city from the beginning. Were you using the forbidden art of human sacrifice?”

“Oh, I thought it failed, but you saw that far?”

“Answer me.”

Chiiik…!!

As he brought the gun barrel, which was heating up from the continuous firing, to her forehead, smoke rose along with the smell of burning flesh, but Amila didn’t even flinch.

“If you know that, you shouldn’t kill me here.”

“…….”

“The moment I, the caster, die, all the memories this clone has experienced… will flow into the main body.”

Even as the flesh of her temple melted and fell off, Amila smiled.

“I, the clone, don’t know, but the moment I die, the real Amila Bainzer will probably understand. What kind of technique you researched and obtained, and how much of a necessary talent that is for the cult.”

“What are you saying…?”

Kasia’s mouth slightly opened with an expression of disbelief.

Amila continued to speak, looking at Kasia’s reaction as if enjoying it.

“If I were the real Amila, I would have left the place first, and then slowly look for an opportunity again. I would never reveal my presence and wait, and stab you in the back at a moment you would never expect.”

Amila chuckled as she looked at Lenok’s stiff face.

“How is it? Aren’t you scared? If you want to prevent that, what should you do? You have to keep me alive as long as possible and go find the real one… !”

Bang!!

No further answer was needed.

Amila’s head shook violently for a moment, and then she scattered blood and fell limply on the spot.

Lenok, who had been looking down at Amila’s corpse that had scattered blood for a moment, slowly turned his head and called out to Kasia and Archie.

“Please investigate the other priests’ belongings. I will check the bishop myself.”

“…Are you sure? If the clone’s memories are really being transmitted to the main body…”

Lenok shook his head at Kasia’s worried words.

“Unless there is a way to verify the truth, there is no need to be dragged around here.”

“…….”

“What if what the bishop said was a lie, and the clone’s memories are being transmitted in real time? We would rather be giving the bishop one more way to obtain information. In that case, it’s right to kill her here right now and go track down the main body.”

Lenok said that and immediately took out his cell phone.

“I’ve roughly confirmed the location of their main body. I’ll call for reinforcements right now and start the pursuit.”

He had contacted the dean and secured people who could help him as soon as he finished the conversation, just in case of such a moment.

He had no intention of being satisfied with just catching a clone. Lenok was planning to eradicate the cult’s aftermath from the roots right now.