Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 508

From the start, he had been aware of the odd feeling.

The sharp gazes that had been piercing him ever since he stepped out of the parking lot at Sabrina’s request.

At first, he wondered if Sabrina was trying to pull something, so he tested her a few times, but this language mage was purely interested in extracting information from Lenok.

Only after clearly sensing that the gazes circling the theater weren’t actually targeting the two of them, but rather someone else—Pandemonium—did Lenok realize what was happening.

The reason he matched the timing of Soryu and Sabrina’s belated realization and response was that there was no need to emphasize that Lenok had noticed them first.

However, regardless of these circumstances, the giant meteorite falling towards the theater’s roof was something Lenok hadn’t anticipated.

*Kwaaaah!*!

A meteorite pierced through the dark night sky. Seeing the violet magic swirling around it, Lenok narrowed his eyes behind his mask.

‘Gravity manipulation. And a very powerful one at that.’

It was different from Balak O’Edon, the level 8 gravity-type esper he had faced in the Hangha Samigung [a martial arts school].

While Balak manipulated the force of gravity itself with his mental power, the gravity manipulation being controlled by magic now felt like it was manipulating the gravity of a specific object.

It was indirectly manipulating the concept of gravity, lifting a massive mass and dropping it.

Among the superhumans gathered here, Lenok quickly identified the source of the magic and turned his gaze.

‘That woman.’

A woman wearing a purple visor, standing quietly protected at the very back of the opposing group.

The visor, which looked like a modified motorcycle helmet, had sharp lines and a full-face transparent shield.

However, instead of a face, only colorful magical lights were reflected inside.

*Kuuuung…!!!*

The size of the meteorite falling onto the theater was easily as big as a mansion.

If a rock of that size fell from hundreds of meters above, it wouldn’t be strange for the huge streamlined building of the theater to explode entirely.

However, Lenok, as well as Sabrina and Soryu, seemed to sense this, yet instead of moving, they just watched it blankly.

Even the superhumans who had been surrounding them and watching them sharply paused slightly.

[Pandemonium, aren’t you going to stop the bombardment pouring down on the main force?]

“Stop it?”

Lenok chuckled.

“Why should I?”

[…….]

“My business is done. I don’t care if the others die. If they want to live, they’ll struggle on their own. And more than anything…”

Inside the theater, there was still a monster that even Lenok couldn’t guarantee victory against.

The moment the meteorite pierced through the theater’s roof like paper and was about to fall into the main hall,

*Paaaat!!!*

A pale flash of light erupted from inside the theater, piercing the center of the meteorite.

A chilling, grinding sound, as if eating away at the inside, echoed, and small cracks began to appear on the surface of the meteorite falling from the sky.

*Crack…!!*

In that instant, the house-sized rock of the meteorite shattered into dozens of rectangular pieces and fell around the theater.

Raising a huge cloud of dust, they slammed into the ground.

*Kugugugu!!!*

A tremendous impact. But it was far from the aftermath that the meteorite was expected to bring.

The flash of light from inside the theater had instantly divided the meteorite into dozens of pieces, minimizing the impact. It had prevented the entire theater from exploding.

Soryu and Sabrina, who were looking up at the sky, also didn’t seem too surprised, slowly raising their magic power.

“Well, I kind of expected this would happen.”

“That woman is inside. She must have reached a level that is impossible to approach with ordinary physical force.”

[…You crazy bastards.]

One of the visored figures, who had been silently watching the three of them, spoke.

“Who are you?”

Soryu, who was coldly scanning his surroundings, asked.

“There are more than a few organizations that are hostile to Pandemonium, but I’ve never heard of a group wearing such bizarre helmets.”

[That’s enough. That’s all.]

And then, the black magic-emitting visor, who was standing at the center of those superhumans, opened his mouth.

The black visor, who had been staring at Soryu, turned his back.

[If you’re not going to interfere, you’re useless. We’re going into the theater. Deal with it yourselves.]

*Dudududu!!!*

At the same time as those words, most of the dozen or so visored figures who had been surrounding the theater disappeared, and countless people began to rise from the ground below the theater.

“Kkeueok…!!”

“Gegegegek!!”

The sight of corpses, covered in dirt, crawling towards the three of them with decaying bodies.

Sabrina, who immediately recognized the nature of the spell, muttered.

“Necromancy. And a very proper orthodox one…!!”

No sooner had she finished speaking than the corpses raised their arms haphazardly and slammed them onto the parking lot floor.

The asphalt floor shattered like glass, and the fragments exploded vertically.

*Kwaaang!!*

A shock that was incredibly intense, hard to believe it was from a corpse.

At the same time, dozens of corpses that had risen from all over the theater rushed at Lenok and Soryu, as if to tear their limbs apart.

A necromantic spell that manipulated already dead corpses, infusing them with magic.

Having realized that the meteorite bombardment they had launched as a preemptive strike had not been very effective, they immediately changed their strategy.

Not only did they divide their forces into two, but they also used necromancy to reinforce them, trying to keep the three of them pinned down here.

“Useless effort.”

*Click!!*

Soryu, touching his wrists, activated his magic first.

Soryu, who had fully manifested his bloodline ability, placed one hand on the ground and pulled up his power.

At the same time, a huge wave of ice erupted from Soryu, instantly covering the limbs of the rushing corpses and freezing them solid.

The moment the corpses struggled to break free from the ice wave with their superhuman strength,

*Chiiik!!*

Sabrina, putting magic on her fingertip and applying it to her lips, shouted loudly.

[Freeze!!]

*Jjeoooong!!*

A language spell containing more than simple thought and resolve was activated. It amplified Soryu’s cold wave, further restraining the corpses.

“Well done.”

The reason the two of them used their power at this point to restrain the corpses was obvious.

Lenok also immediately raised his magic power and activated the Archangel’s Compassion.

He teleported several resonance incendiary bombs that he had detonated inside Rogier’s maw, scattering them in the air and detonating them.

*Kwaaaang!!!*

The solidly frozen corpses were swept away by the shock of the explosion, their limbs shattered and scattered.

And beyond the scene of the shattered corpses’ fragments scattering, four streaks of magic light flashed as if they had been waiting.

*Swaeeeek!!*

Magic lights of different colors, fired from four directions, targeted the three of them almost simultaneously.

A terrifying onslaught that came right before their eyes the moment they confirmed their presence with magic sense.

There was no time to coordinate or react in advance. The three moved almost simultaneously.

“Soryu!!”

“I know.”

In the brief moment that Lenok used Blink twice in a row to take on two of the four attacks alone,

Soryu, who had taken out a fist-sized crystal ball from his pocket, threw it to the ground and shattered it.

A barrier resembling the deep night sky, leaking from inside the crystal ball, instantly enveloped Sabrina and Soryu, blocking the intersecting magic lights.

*Kwaaang!!*

One of the cursed legacies of the Kabahim Dynasty.

However, the other two visored figures, who continued their attacks, also reacted quickly.

*Dudududu!!!*

Instead of removing or tearing the barrier, they amplified their magic even more, pouring even more violent attacks onto the barrier.

The visor emitting brown magic light scooped up piles of dirt and slammed them down as a giant fist.

The visor with silver magic light stabbed into the barrier with a blade in his hand without hesitation.

While dealing with the green and crimson visors rushing towards him, Lenok was slightly surprised by the completeness of the spell.

‘The power and stability are considerable. Are all four of them physical ability users and mages…?’

*Kwaaang!!*

Meanwhile, Soryu, who had somehow managed to withstand the attacks of the two visors from behind the barrier, coughed and removed the barrier.

*Hwaaak!!*

A huge ice obelisk rose from behind the barrier, emitting cold air.

The complex ancient characters engraved on the surface of the ice obelisk shone brightly, amplifying Sabrina’s magic like crazy.

Behind Soryu, who had turned pale, Sabrina was making hand seals with both hands and biting her lip to draw blood.

Was the current exchange, which seemed somewhat forced, meant to buy time for the language mage to prepare her incantation?

The moment the visors realized this and leaned towards Sabrina with a changed momentum,

Sabrina, with blood dripping from her lips, unleashed her language magic once more.

[Everyone, stop moving!!!]

*Kiiiiiing!!!*

At that moment, the movements of the seven people, who had not stopped moving for a single moment, stopped in place almost simultaneously.

A strange movement, as if someone invisible had grabbed them by the scruff of their necks and pushed them, rather than by their own will.

[This… is amazing. It’s a power that’s hard to believe is from language magic.]

The crimson visor, who had been facing Lenok, spoke for the first time.

[Chanting alone wouldn’t produce such a powerful binding force. An amplification mechanism using blood as a trigger, a temporary spell catalyst. And…]

She glanced at her own fingertips, which were stiff and unable to move properly, and smiled quietly.

[Using a geas [a magical compulsion] that puts not only yourself but also your allies under the range of the language magic. You’re incredibly brave.]

The crimson visor’s words were not wrong at all.

No, it even felt like she knew too much about Sabrina’s language magic.

The amplification of the spell incantation through blood. The power of the obelisk temporarily erected using Soryu’s ice.

Even setting the condition that not only herself but also Soryu and Lenok could not move with a geas.

Sabrina had succeeded in casting a language spell that stopped everything moving in this place.

The obelisk erected behind her must be the language pillar that Sabrina had mentioned in passing.

Considering that language magic, despite its power and versatility, has a very low success rate, this situation was proof that Sabrina herself had walked a very fine line.

By simply asking Soryu to buy her a moment to prepare her incantation, Sabrina had bound the movements of both herself and her opponents in this place.

Since the release of the language magic was entirely up to her, the initiative had shifted to their side in an instant.

Sabrina was clearly showing how a skilled language mage could seize control of the battlefield.

“…….”

Of course, Lenok was not affected by Sabrina’s language magic, but instead of informing Soryu and Sabrina of that fact, he was quietly listening to her words.

Lenok’s target-specific resistance ability was an extremely powerful and unique mage talent.

Just having this talent could lead to identifying and tracking down the identity of the mage, Victor.

He was acting with Soryu and Sabrina for now, but they were in a relationship where they could become enemies at any time.

There was no reason to add his strength by breaking this stalemate.

Wiping the blood flowing from her torn lips, Sabrina asked coldly.

“What do you want?”

[…….]

“How much do you know? No, where did you even come from?”

While questioning the opponent, Sabrina did not mention the Doctor, the midterm settlement, or the members at all.

Since she didn’t know how much the other side knew about Pandemonium’s midterm settlement, she judged that there was no need to give information first.

[Before that, there’s something I want to ask.]

The crimson visor, who had been standing still and looking down at her body, opened her mouth.

[Dain was a skilled person who was proficient in stealth even among us. How did you notice him?]

“Why do you think we’d answer that?”

Sabrina retorted coldly.

The visor wiggled leisurely.

[It wouldn’t be a bad thing for you. I don’t necessarily want to kill you here.]

“What?”

[My mission is just to buy time so you can’t join Pandemonium’s main force. If you want to live, wouldn’t it be better to just chat with me and then part ways?]

“…….”

Their attitude was so relaxed that it was hard to believe they knew that they were affiliated with Pandemonium and that they were supposed to gather today.

The other visors who appeared next to her also seemed to have no complaints about her words, quietly watching the three of them.

Lenok listened to the visor’s words with interest and then answered.

“If you wanted to hide it to the end, you shouldn’t have been so perfect.”

[What do you mean?]

“You guys cleaned up this entire satellite city before coming here.”

Lenok smiled, seeing the visor suddenly shut her mouth.

“The killing intent that was constantly swirling around the city has shrunk drastically, but there was strangely no change near the parking lot. Isn’t that because someone is arbitrarily adjusting the presence of the surrounding area?”

[Well, that’s…]

“There are probably two possibilities.”

Lenok said leisurely.

“Either you coordinated so hastily that there was no agreement on the operation within the organization, or the guy named Dain who just died was a genius who had only learned stealth in theory.”

[…….]

“Probably both? So he didn’t know that he had to reveal himself while adjusting to the surrounding presence and situation.”

Everyone in the room naturally listened to his muttered words.

Lenok added, fully feeling the blatant attention and tension that had risen in an instant.

“Sometimes you have to reveal yourself to be hidden. It’s the complex and contradictory mystery of stealth. The fact that a guy who learned stealth to this level didn’t know that means he hasn’t used it much in practice.”

The visor didn’t say anything more.

“An armed organization with a systematic training process and organizational power to teach and acquire stealth from the beginning to a superhuman who already has a specialty. It’s obvious where such infrastructure and investment are possible.”

Lenok said, faintly flicking his fingers.

“You’re from the Balkans. Right?”

Silence fell.

After a long time, the crimson visor raised her gaze and opened her mouth towards Lenok.

[What did you say your name was?]

* * *

Amidst the tense atmosphere and the sharp night air.

The current standoff, with three against four, seemed manageable at first glance.

However, the inability to easily guess the opponent’s thoughts made them hesitate to move.

[It would be better not to do anything unnecessary. Once the main force’s work is done, we don’t intend to hold you back.]

“From the beginning, the target was the person left in the theater…”

The Doctor, or the new item he brought, must have been the target.

It seemed certain that information about the midterm settlement had been leaked.

The fact that they had heard about the midterm settlement, which was being kept top secret even within Pandemonium, and attacked this place was a problem.

That was proof that the opponent was also a formidable armed organization with excellent intelligence and personnel.

It wouldn’t be strange if they knew to some extent about the purpose of this operation or the composition of the members.

‘What’s more concerning is that they cleaned up the entire area of Bairutz first.’

Lenok’s eyes shone coldly behind his mask.

The fact that they had removed the obstacles in the satellite city first, even at the risk of being discovered by Pandemonium’s members, was obvious.

‘It’s not just about interfering with Pandemonium’s work. There’s a high possibility that they came prepared for an all-out war.’

What was the goal of the superhumans wearing visors?

The new item of the Imenpalbi, the existence of the Doctor, or the relics of the old world?

Or perhaps it was the weakening of Pandemonium’s power itself.

It was impossible to respond rashly without knowing how much information they had about Pandemonium.

Judging from what they were saying, it seemed that the members of the opposing organization were also attached to the members of the theater.

Unless the Doctor gave a separate signal, they would have to wait and see for now.

Soryu and Sabrina also seemed to have the same thought, just watching them with expressionless faces.

Rather, it seemed that the visored superhumans were the ones who were tense after talking to Lenok.

“Sabrina. I have a question.”

“Hey, don’t say my name.”

Soryu ignored Sabrina’s sharp retort and said.

“I don’t know about the unauthorized armed organizations in the East Continent. Do you have any guesses?”

“I do.”

Sabrina answered with her arms crossed.

“Judging from their reaction, it seems that most of what Victor guessed is correct. So I have a rough idea.”

“Where is it?”

The two of them were unhesitatingly deducing the identity of the opposing organization’s members in front of them.

“One of the special task forces newly created by the Balkan city government after the lifting of the Prohibition Edict. Among them, the superhuman unit that was said to train superhumans in new ability development. I’ve heard of it.”

Sabrina said, staring at the visor.

“Special Task Force Aegis. It’s famous for its members hiding their identities thoroughly. Those helmets are probably for that purpose.”

[…….]

“However, I didn’t expect a new organization that hasn’t even been around for two years to have already expanded its activities outside the city. This kind of satellite city isn’t even a few districts combined compared to the Balkans.”

Sabrina was right.

Lenok still remembered encountering superhumans with similar visors just before he left for Hangha Samigung.

Special Task Force Aegis. He had guessed that it was a type of special unit created after the lifting of the Prohibition Edict.

“A special task force from the Balkans…”

Soryu turned to Lenok and nodded with a cold gaze.

“There’s no point in dragging this out. Let’s move.”

“Agreed.”

Lenok also readily agreed.

[Wait, I clearly said that if you just wait…!!]

The visor’s words were not finished.

The moment Lenok slightly flicked his stopped fingers, all the magic threads attached to his fingertips were released.

*Chwararararak!!!*

Hundreds of magic threads released from all directions wrapped around and rotated in the parking lot, tearing up all the asphalt on the ground and throwing it into the sky.

*Kwaaang!!!*

The asphalt fragments soared into the sky like a storm, blocking the view and sweeping in.

The Aegis members gritted their teeth at the storm of debris sticking to them from all directions, blocking their view behind their visors.

[These bastards…!! Chase them!! Don’t let them join the main force!!]

“Ugh!!”

Soryu grabbed Sabrina by the nape of her neck and threw her body forward, then sprinted towards the theater.

*Jjeok!!*

At the same time, an ice path rose from the ground, sliding Sabrina forward, and Soryu sprinted madly beside her.

A clean reaction that didn’t care about Lenok’s safety at all.

It was natural since Soryu already understood what kind of special ability mage Lenok was.

It wasn’t just that they had agreed to take care of the language mage.

They all knew who was capable of doing more than their share, no matter where they were placed, without having to say it.

[…!!!]

The four members, who had instantly made eye contact with each other, quickly divided their forces and rushed out.

The gray and green visors chased Soryu and Sabrina, while the crimson and brown visors marked Lenok.

The crimson visor, who stood in front of Lenok as if blocking his path, gritted her teeth.

[When did you get this many magic threads…!!]

“I thought it was quite obvious, didn’t you know?”

Lenok smiled and pretended to clench and unclench his fist.

“Even if your body is stopped by language magic, it’s not difficult to cut off the magic you’ve already activated.”

Just before Sabrina activated her language magic, he grabbed the asphalt in the surrounding area with magic threads, and then, as if he had been hit by the language magic, he stopped his body by binding it with magic threads.

The moment Soryu gave the signal, he cut the magic threads, overturned the ground of the parking lot, and secured a gap for the two of them to escape first.

The crimson visor, realizing that he had already taken action from the time they were guessing their identities, clenched her fist tightly.

Lenok’s eyes flashed sharply as he watched the visor’s reaction.

It was different from knowing quite well how to deal with Pandemonium’s plans and Sabrina and Soryu’s abilities.

It was a strange reaction as if they were completely ignorant of the existence of Lenok’s own abilities.

“You didn’t know about my abilities. Then the story becomes simpler.”

If Aegis had found out about Pandemonium’s settlement through a special ability like precognition, they wouldn’t have been wary of Lenok’s abilities.

However, the reaction they were showing now was that their wariness of the magic threads Lenok was handling was only slightly lax.

What did it mean that the information about Lenok, who had decided to participate just before the settlement began, had not been passed on to them?

The fact pointed to only one thing.

Lenok’s smile, which had risen from inside his mask, turned cold.

“There’s an informant within Pandemonium.”

[……!!!!]