Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 463

“He’s really gone.”

Leya, who had been fiddling with her phone, craned her neck out of the helicopter, watching Lenok recede into the distance.

The robe, which had been rapidly descending towards the edge of the jungle, seemed to extend its magic threads and sway this way and that, before quickly disappearing from sight as if fading away.

Watching Lenok, who had instantly vanished using his signature space-jump technique, Leya muttered in amazement.

“I knew he was causing a ruckus all over the Myung Continent, but I never thought they’d actually bring in a guy like that. Where was a special-type mage of that caliber hiding?”

Freya Kalins wasn’t an official member of Pandemonium, but she wasn’t completely ignorant of how the organization worked.

Due to her vast scale magic, she couldn’t help but hear various stories while cooperating with the Demonic Palace, whether she liked it or not.

As someone who was also close to Agneta, Leya couldn’t help but find it strange that such a mage had appeared in the Demonic Palace, where manpower was already scarce.

The clown, who was removing the IV drips from his arm one by one, chuckled.

“Myung is not one to waste time on pointless endeavors. Even if he couldn’t bring Victor, he must have thought it was worth it.”

“Hey, do you think I don’t know that?”

Leya turned her head with an annoyed expression.

“Regardless of his abilities, it’s just weird how he seems like a veteran who’s done this kind of thing dozens of times.”

If Victor hadn’t taken over the task the clown was working on at the last moment, things would have gone terribly wrong.

Not only did he perfectly adjust the Ascendant’s geas [a magical binding or oath] in that tense moment, but he also finished the job faster than the clown.

What was even stranger was Victor’s attitude, as if he didn’t think much of it.

A series of gambles where even the slightest mistake could have cost him his life.

How accustomed to such situations must one be to just dust themselves off and leave so nonchalantly?

That was the part that bothered Leya, but the clown didn’t seem to care much about it.

“Why are you thinking so hard about it? It’s obvious that both Victor’s name and identity are fake.”

“What?”

The clown shrugged at her question.

“With that level of skill, he must have been brought in with the approval of not only Myung but also the Commander. Considering his arrogant nature, he might be an old monster who’s been through many battles, despite appearances.”

“Seriously…! Just because I’m preparing for a concert doesn’t mean I don’t know anything.”

Thwack!!

Leya hit the clown on the head with a nearby microphone stand.

“If a space-type special mage had appeared on the central front, there’s no way Tokerphz wouldn’t have heard about it. There are gamblers all over the city betting on the outcomes of battles, do you think they would have missed that news?”

“Hehe, now that you mention it, it’s been a while since I’ve participated in a Wizerboard betting. Let’s see, I hid some pocket money around here…”

Leya sighed deeply at the clown’s pathetic appearance as he rummaged through the box under the stretcher.

There was no point in continuing the conversation if he had no intention of having a proper one.

Her phone was already being bombarded with messages from the company.

Just as Leya picked up her phone again to send a quick reply saying she’d be back soon before the connection was lost, the clown spoke.

“You won’t have to wait long. I expected it when Myung said he brought him, but his capabilities are beyond expectations. He’ll be back up here in no time.”

The young man’s eyes, as he picked up the fallen skin and rubbed it, flashed coldly for a moment.

“You’ll soon see how dangerous he is.”

“…That’s a joke. You’re the craziest bastard I’ve ever seen.”

While Leya and the clown were bickering, Glen, who had been silently piloting the airship, suddenly made a sharp turn.

At the same time, a myriad of flashes of light swept past the wide-open doorway.

The clown slowly rose from the stretcher, having confirmed the deployment of countless interceptor weapons below the airship, which had now left the jungle.

“It’s the final operation. Leya, can you still sing?”

“I had two throat lozenges, so I should be fine?”

At Leya’s nonchalant reply as she fiddled with the speakers, the clown flicked his fingers at the two Glens standing nearby.

“With two hearts, I should still be able to use illusions to some extent for combat.”

“Understood.”

Watching Glen pull out a knife from his chest without hesitation, the clown immediately pulled out two dice from his pocket.

Clatter!

The clown rolled the dice onto the floor of the airship, and without even checking the numbers, he threw himself out of the airship.

He held the two twisted blades that had sprung from his chest in reverse grips, and slashed his own neck on both sides.

Licking the blood that splattered in the air, the clown let out a bizarre laugh.

“Kuhuhuhut!!! If I had known this would happen, I should have sent him a little later…?!”

As the clown’s body fell like a meteor into the heart of the air force unit, a huge commotion spread like a wave in all directions.

It was two hours later that news spread that the Reding Revolutionary Army’s ironclad air defense network had been breached and the commander’s head had been taken.

* * *

The confrontation between the Order and the Magic Tower on the outskirts of the jungle.

In this somewhat sudden conflict, it was hard to believe that the Order was in a position of unilaterally clinging to the other side.

What if the reason was to make Tatiana Chiglet, one of the five pillars of the Blaver Magic Tower, an apostle of the Order?

Even Lenok could only look back at Tatiana with a somewhat bewildered expression.

However, she seemed displeased even by Lenok’s gaze, raising her eyebrows and snapping at him.

“Pandemonium, if you don’t want to fight, get out of the way.”

Whoosh!

With a light wave of her magic, the surrounding air heated up, and a breath of red-hot flames swept through the area.

“Hearing such nonsense, it seems the Order’s priestess has come here herself.”

Tatiana muttered, her sharp gaze scanning the surroundings.

“I don’t know why a noble who never leaves the Order’s main sanctuary has traveled all the way to the jungle, but if I kill you, there will be fewer apostles born in the Order.”

“Hehe, it’s no use taking your anger out on me here.”

The woman called the priestess smiled with a strange expression.

“This child is merely my avatar. I am still sitting in the main sanctuary, letting go of the flowing fate.”

“…”

“Pandemonium?”

The priestess turned to Lenok and smiled.

“If you help me capture that person alive, I will reward you handsomely. If you want, I can even help you visit the Order’s relic vault.”

“The main sanctuary’s relic vault?”

“There are many items that the Demonic Palace would covet. For example, relics related to the Archangel’s aura residing in your body?”

“…”

“I don’t like deals with obvious intentions, but opportunities like this don’t come often. To think I’d find someone with the aptitude for an apostle near a well connected to the Outer Sea…”

The priestess crossed her arms, watching Lenok, who didn’t respond.

“Perhaps we can fill the void of the vacant six apostles before the day is over, so we can’t just pass this by.”

“…I see.”

Lenok nodded, quickly recalling the conversation between Tatiana and the priestess.

All of this conversation was made up of information that could not exist unless one assumption was true.

The power of this female priestess called the priestess.

“Can the Order’s priestess create apostles from humans?”

“Of course not. I’m just receiving and conveying the revelations.”

The priestess smiled.

“When the time, place, and aptitude align perfectly, it’s possible regardless of the person’s will.”

“…”

So, because the codex found an apt person near the well, she could forcibly awaken them as an apostle.

That was as good as saying that the priestess’s power was stronger in places close to the rifts in the world.

“What do you say, Pandemonium? Would you please make a decision before that person burns us all to ashes?”

Before answering, Lenok stared at Tatiana and the mages of the Magic Tower standing behind her.

They were all pulling up their magic with tense expressions, but their faces were filled with more fear than resolve.

The survivors who had watched the Ascendants’ brawl in the plaza had also realized how ridiculously skilled the mage in front of them was.

Even though they were led by Tatiana, a pillar of the Magic Tower, they were all exhausted from the long operation.

Even if Tatiana was fine, it would be difficult to guarantee victory, let alone now when they were pushing themselves to the limit to save the other mages.

If the Order started supporting from the rear and assisting the Pandemonium mage, it was uncertain whether they could survive this situation.

In fact, it was not an exaggeration to say that the balance of the situation was tilting based on Lenok’s decision.

“…”

Tatiana didn’t try to persuade Lenok at this point.

There was no point in wasting time with useless words when they had no cards to play.

Instead, Lenok, who had been quietly watching her squeeze out her magic to create flames, slowly shook his head.

“I refuse.”

“Ah…”

“…What?”

Tatiana frowned slightly, as if she couldn’t believe it, and the priestess let out a soft sigh.

Lenok, unconcerned by their reactions, lowered his gaze through his robe.

“I don’t want to increase the Order’s power, and how can I trust that you’ll give me a reward from the main sanctuary’s vault?”

“If you wish, there are other ways…”

“Other ways? A way to make me an apostle instead of that woman?”

At Lenok’s indifferent reply, the priestess’s eyes narrowed.

After briefly observing Lenok through his robe, she chuckled and shook her head.

“Alright. It seems you’re not completely without aptitude either.”

“…”

“Fine. If you don’t want to, we’ll retreat. It seems you didn’t come here to help us.”

Considering that they were confronting Tatiana even before Lenok arrived, it was proof that the Order had its own means of subduing Tatiana.

However, the priestess cleanly giving up that opportunity and retreating meant that she realized that Lenok’s very presence here was to interfere with the Order.

‘There is a possibility of bringing Tatiana Chiglet over to our side later.’

When Lenok visited the Blaver Magic Tower’s West Continent branch in the name of Ban, Tatiana had come to deal with the White Lion Turan incident.

At that time, Tatiana had expressed strong skepticism about the Magic Tower’s affairs and, conversely, had not shown interest in Lenok’s recruitment offer.

Her power, specialized in flame-type bombardment magic, could be used efficiently and powerfully in any organization.

Lenok had decided to intervene, choosing to save the life of a capable mage rather than trust the Order’s unreliable deal.

As the priestess turned to leave, the sharp gazes of the priests behind her clung to the robe.

“We will bury the fact that Pandemonium joined hands with us today.”

The priestess, turning her back, raised her head slightly and muttered.

“This matter is clearly against the main church’s doctrine, but it was necessary because of that person’s command.”

“…”

“He told me to keep an eye on you. It seems he was right.”

The priestess, letting out a strange laugh, spoke incomprehensible words and then left.

The silent steps of the priests followed her, and they disappeared so quickly that it was as if they had never been there.

Lenok stared at the place where the Order had disappeared for a while, lost in thought.

From the perspective of the Order, which worships the end of the Outer Sea as a god, this operation of launching Gye Baek and locking him in the end was obviously not something they wanted.

He had been curious as to why they were cooperating while reinforcing the six apostles, but it seemed that the head of the Order had directly dismissed it as a necessary task.

Could there be a different reason for the Order than simply worshiping the Outer Gods and expecting their favor?

Lenok swallowed such unknown questions and turned his gaze.

Tatiana, who had approached him with an exhausted expression, was extinguishing the flames she had conjured in her hand.

The mage, who had listlessly swept back her red hair, muttered.

“I never thought I’d receive help from a puppet of the Demonic Palace.”

“I just prevented another crazy monster from being created.”

Lenok scoffed behind his mask.

Here, it was necessary to act out the somewhat arrogant nature of Victor.

“If you want to die, do it outside the Order’s sight. Take your subordinates and get lost.”

“…Alright. I guess I should. This is the last time anyway.”

Tatiana smiled with a tired expression.

“When I said I was going to quit being a pillar, my master told me to do this one last time. I realized too late that it was essentially an abandoned mission.”

“…”

“Still, I should send the kids who followed me back to the Magic Tower… Do you have any intention of helping?”

Instead of answering, Lenok chuckled.

Tatiana shook her head as if she hadn’t expected anything.

She turned to where the other mages were waiting and muttered.

“Right… I had a place in mind where I should go after leaving the Magic Tower.”

“Are you talking to me?”

“Seeing a mage like you reminds me of someone.”

Her red eyes shone brightly.

“I owe you one. I’ll remember this.”

“…”

After confirming the departure of the Blaver Magic Tower mages, following the Order, Lenok moved his steps out of the jungle.

He didn’t know what had happened to Tatiana Chiglet, but it was clear that she had been thinking of leaving the Magic Tower for a long time.

He might see her again near a large city before long.

The Pandemonium affair, which had been short if short, and endlessly long if long, was over.

At this point, when those who had stepped into the chaos, whether by choice or not, were retreating one by one.

Now that he had finished the things that were on his mind, Lenok had no intention of staying in the jungle any longer.

It was time to return to Balkan.

* * *

After leaving the jungle, Lenok was able to leave the Southern Continent in a few days on his bike.

He did run out of food along the way, but there were plenty of outlaws to keep a solo traveler company.

It wasn’t difficult to beat up the guys who started trouble first and receive their food as a gift.

The gang’s dumbfounded faces as they had their treasured smoked sausages taken away were also fun to watch.

Lenok, having unintentionally consumed a lot of greasy meat and salty smoked foods that could be stored for a long time, arrived near Balkan.

Brummm!

Lenok, who had instantly moved to the church near District 21, stored his bike and started walking on foot.

He was tired from having spent several days sleeping outdoors, but it would be much easier to take care of things beforehand before returning to Lenok.

As he adjusted his mask and opened the church door, a nun sitting on the organ pipes above the chapel looked down at him.

“I’ve been waiting for you.”

“…”

“The mental network is buzzing because of the operation you carried out in the Southern Continent. Do you know that?”

Instead of answering, Lenok sat down on a chair in the chapel and flicked his fingers.

At the same time, a circular wave that spread through the sound instantly covered the church’s space and formed an intangible barrier.

Hairea’s eyes flashed strangely.

“A barrier technique that uses sound waves as a medium. I haven’t heard that you’ve mastered such a technique…”

“Did you know from the beginning?”

Lenok interrupted her and asked abruptly, adjusting his mask.

Hairea, who had paused slightly, replied.

“The well incident was a top-secret plan carried out by the Commander, so I was only notified recently. In the first place, there’s no reason for a manager like me to participate in that…”

“It’s about Soryu. She almost messed things up by acting outside the plan.”

Lenok nodded and said.

“Considering the timing of the operation, she must have been moving before us.”

“…”

“I’m curious whether you knew that fact and didn’t tell me, or if you didn’t know at all.”

Soryu had acted as if she was going to confront Hairea about Lenok’s existence, but it was Lenok who had to raise the issue with her.

How could it make sense that she, who had received a direct word from Myung and arranged the job for Lenok, had not properly explained the variables of this situation?

The reason Lenok had come to Hairea as soon as he arrived in Balkan, setting aside other matters, was not just to hear the inside story of this incident.

“I think I’ll be getting more Pandemonium jobs from you for a while, but it’ll be a problem if things like this keep happening.”

Lenok asked again, staring intently at Hairea’s slightly stiffened face.

“What value is there in a manager who can’t even inform me of the sudden actions of a fellow member, let alone other variables…?”

Lenok said, slightly raising his index finger.

Whoosh!

At the same time, several strands of magic threads stretched tautly between Hairea’s neck and began to emit a sharp aura.

Lenok smiled, watching her bite her lip slightly.

“If something like this happens again, it won’t end with a warning.”

“…Okay. I’ll keep that in mind.”

As soon as he heard Hairea’s answer, Lenok immediately released the magic threads.

In the first place, if he had been in Ban’s position, he would not have protested so aggressively.

The reason he had threatened Hairea like this was to make the Demonic Palace aware that his way of handling things was very different from Kyunroe’s.

However, apart from that, it was true that Lenok was feeling somewhat annoyed with Hairea because of Soryu’s actions.

In the end, it was only because Soryu didn’t become too obsessed with the Archangel’s Tear that they got away with it, but if things had gone wrong, it wouldn’t have been strange if they had ended up suffering without getting the tear.

Hairea, who had a sullen expression, asked, touching her neck.

“What about the Archangel’s Tear?”

“I destroyed it. It’s unlikely to ever appear in the world again.”

Hairea sighed softly at Lenok’s blatant lie.

“There’s plenty of evidence that Jebyeok returned to Kaius empty-handed… Haa, fine. The goal was either to steal it or destroy it from the beginning. This will make it easier to work on Kaius. That’s enough.”

“Work on Kaius, you say.”

Lenok’s eyes flashed sharply behind his mask.

“Soryu also mentioned something about a plan to overthrow Kaius. It seems that the city was hiding more than just relics of the old world.”

“…I’m sorry, but I can’t give you any specific information even if you say that.”

Hairea answered calmly, without being intimidated by Lenok’s sharp remark.

“It’s one of the linked operations that has been going on in the West Continent for quite some time, and Soryu was probably moving in preparation for that as well.”

“…”

“It’s definitely my fault that there was a mix-up in the information delivery process, but I definitely didn’t intentionally withhold it. I just want you to know that.”

It seemed strange that they had let Jebyeok go so easily, so it was possible that there was no need to kill him.

If so, was it because Soryu had appeared during the operation to assess the situation on her own and act accordingly?

However, it was definitely something to think about as to what else was hidden in Kaius that they were so concerned about.

While Lenok was lost in thought, Hairea quietly got up and reached into the organ pipes, rummaging around.

Thud!

She took out a long sack, placed it on the chapel table, and pushed it towards Lenok.

“This is the success reward for this operation. Myung told me to give it to you separately, including the clown’s share from the jungle.”

Hairea smiled, staring at Lenok’s mask as he gazed at the sack.

“Why don’t you open it? You’ve been smashing up other cities left and right, and you’ve brought back something really nice.”