Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 531

The Second Thesis (3)

To obtain Evan Bailen’s talent.

Before I could fully grasp the meaning of those words, the coffin door swung open, revealing what was inside.

A corpse, its entire body wrapped in thick bandages.

It stood rigidly, holding massive mirrors in both hands, facing this way.

The bandaged corpse held mirrors. Lenox stood precisely in the direction those mirrors were facing.

The moment Lenox’s image was reflected in the mirror, his form distorted as if being sucked into the mummy.

[I was told you couldn’t move, and it seems that was indeed the case.]

Beside Lenox, a large figure wearing a gas mask cautiously approached, observing his condition.

[So, it’s over the moment the image is reflected in the mirror.]

The gas-masked figure closely watched Lenox’s face as he stared blankly at the mirror, fiddling with the filter of his mask.

[It was a bit rushed, but if it’s this much, we should have achieved our goal enough-]

“Black magic. And a very powerful level of ritualistic transfer technique at that.”

[……!!!!]

“Although you forcibly combined the powers of the mirror and the black coffin, this magic system is familiar.”

Lenox, who had seemed frozen, opened his mouth, and the large figure flinched, taking a step back.

Lenox slowly turned his head, his expressionless face staring up at him.

The ancient black magician who had taken over the body of Jaun Odis in the Hanghasa Labyrinth [a fictional location, likely a dangerous and mysterious place] and reincarnated.

The master of the ritualistic transfer technique who freely transferred his consciousness into multiple bodies.

Lenox had just sensed the lingering traces of that very technique from the other side of the mirror.

“You guys. Do you know the name Ermong?”

[What……?]

Crack……!!

The moment Lenox’s body, trapped in the mirror image, moved, an unknown magical power surged from all directions, desperately trying to suppress Lenox’s form.

However, the streams of magical power that surged did not touch Lenox’s body or presence.

It was as if they had never been able to grasp him from the beginning, vanishing into nothingness.

Only then did the mirror’s power, realizing it had been reflecting an illusion that could not be touched, recoil and strike itself.

The small cracks that had formed in the mirror quickly grew, and then it shattered into pieces.

Crash!!

[This is impossible……!!]

The gas-masked figure, his previous composure gone, stared at the shattered mirror fragments in a panic.

“You weren’t planning to run far. Perhaps there was no escape route to begin with.”

The aerial refueling station, which had successfully used some anti-gravity technology to fly in the outer areas.

However, because it had not yet been fully commercialized, it was losing balance and shaking considerably at this altitude.

This was proof that they had never intended to use this aircraft to escape far in the first place.

“Wasn’t the goal different from the start?”

Screech……!!

The station, which had been gradually increasing its vibrations, soon lost its balance and began to shake wildly.

At the edge of the station, which was losing the artificially created updraft and slowly descending, Lenox muttered with a thoughtful expression.

“If it was just a trap, there would be no reason to tell me about this situation directly. There’s no reason to get involved in something that would be fine if I didn’t interfere…”

Lenox’s gaze turned to the wide-open black coffin.

“I guess things won’t make sense unless I secure that.”

At that moment, a thick fist fell from above where Lenox was standing, and the station’s solid steel plate exploded.

Wham!!

The large figure’s preemptive strike came without any warning or sign.

However, Lenox easily dodged it with a blink, got back on his bike, and simply tilted his head.

“Let’s go back down to the ground and talk.”

The aerial refueling station, which had instantly lost its balance and was tilting.

The massive aircraft, capable of carrying dozens of people at once, entered the influence of a magnetic storm.

All the power sources needed for flight were paralyzed, and it plummeted straight to the ground.

The station, emitting smoke like crazy against the night sky, slid down towards the ground in a gentle parabola.

Wham!!

The night streets were illuminated as a white pillar of fire erupted.

The large figure struggled to get up from the wreckage of the station, which had instantly become a pile of scrap metal.

He absentmindedly touched his gas mask and stared at the mage standing unharmed before him.

[Hoo……!!]

“That gas mask.”

Lenox said, tapping the black coffin that had been flipped open beneath his feet with his staff.

“It’s not just for blocking outside air.”

Lenox carefully observed the man’s gas mask and took out a cigarette from his pocket, putting it in his mouth.

“There’s no magic mixed in the air being expelled from the filter. Rather, it can only be seen as a device to prevent substances flowing inside the mask from leaking out.”

An unknown smoke flowed from the man’s fleshy eye area, visible through the gas mask goggles.

Lenox nodded, as if understanding, and lit his cigarette.

“If it were just for magic enhancement or doping, there would be no reason to go that far… Is it a nerve stimulant?”

[…….]

“If you’re forcibly stimulating the central nervous system to expand your mana sensitivity, it’s not impossible. Increasing sensitivity means that the amount of mana you possess is out of control.”

Lenox nodded, looking at the large figure who didn’t answer.

“It makes sense if you’ve had a magic enhancement surgery equivalent to a body modification, or taken a magical elixir with similar side effects.”

[Hahahaha!!]

The large figure burst into hearty laughter and stepped forward, grabbing his shirt collar.

The man, who tore off the sleeves of both arms of his shirt with a light gesture, stroked his forearms and replied.

[I heard you were so weak you could barely move without life support, but your insight is as good as the rumors say.]

“…….”

[That’s right. I forcibly expanded my magic circuits through body modification surgery at the Duris Workshop. It’s hard to stay sane because of the expanded senses unless I use nerve stimulants.]

Screech!!

As the man laughed and slowly drew up his magic power, hot magic began to overflow and fall from the sleeves of his torn arms.

The ultra-high heat created by forcibly applying a change in the nature of magic.

The asphalt the man was standing on could not withstand the heat and began to melt rapidly.

[The main force has three objectives in this operation.]

The man opened the filter of his gas mask, released the nerve stimulant trapped inside, and inhaled the outside air.

[To safely secure Evan Bailen. If we are interfered with, to secure the pursuer using the artifacts we have prepared. And finally…….]

Whoosh!!

At the same time, dozens of superhumans instantly appeared from all over the street, and a net of blue magical light covered the night sky.

[To kill all witnesses.]

The man’s face, reflected in the goggles of his gas mask, was grinning with a sinister smile.

[I’m sure of it after that response, Kyunryun. You can’t use high-level magic.]

“…….”

[All you can use are firearms and light auxiliary magic.]

Of course, no matter how hurt and weak he was, it was not wise to be careless against a mage who had surpassed the Saint-level.

That’s why the large figure had been watching the landing point since the station began to fall, and had ordered a perimeter to be set up around the entire street.

In addition, they had installed a special formula interception system directly manufactured and sold by Achilles [likely a powerful organization or individual].

It was a powerful debuff that would eat away at magic just by standing inside it.

It would be difficult for a wounded mage to endure it even for a moment.

[Even if you’re the best mage in the shadows, it seems the battle with Madrich Onion was too much for you. It’s not strange.]

Lenox didn’t say anything to the man’s relaxed reply.

He simply tapped his fingers, looking like he was deep in thought.

Crack!!

At the same time as he flicked the other hand that wasn’t holding his staff, a short current burst from Lenox’s fingertip.

The static electricity that had sprung up in the air seemed to shoot straight up into the sky along his fingertip, then disappeared without a trace.

A light movement that didn’t seem to do anything in particular, leaving no sign or trace.

The gas-masked figure, who had been watching the scene, shook his head as if feeling sorry for him.

[You’ve become a complete cripple. Is emitting a single spark of static electricity the best you can do?]

“…….”

Snap!!

The man, lightly cracking his fingers, stepped forward and began to gather a powerful mass of magic.

[I’m not interested in a broken mage. I’ll kill you cleanly, take your corpse, and quickly-]

Thump!!

At that moment, a faint thunderclap echoing from the other side of the night sky cut off the gas mask’s words.

[……?]

It was dark because it was the middle of the night, but the sound was so clear that it was hard to believe it was echoing from a cloudless sky.

However, there were still no dark clouds in the night sky, only the faint starlight obscured by smog.

The moment the man tilted his head and tried to draw up his magic again.

A huge blue light flashed from the intersection a few blocks away.

Flash!!

A deafening roar echoed after a moment’s gap after the light fell.

Not stopping there, the road began to be covered in a dazzling blue glow from the far end of the intersection.

Thud thud thud thud!!!!

A massive pillar of lightning fell, pounding the asphalt from the other side of the intersection.

More than a dozen bolts of lightning surrounded the area like a wall of thunder, and instantly began to race towards this way.

A bombardment of lightning that was so overwhelming and bizarre that it was hard to believe even while seeing it with one’s own eyes.

[Wh-what is this……!!!]

“Formula interception system destroyed!! It’s presumed to be due to external firepower exposure exceeding the magic allowance!!”

“Estimated firepower level is Saint-level or higher……!! If we don’t get out of here right now, we’ll die-!!”

Wham!!

There were no more screams than that.

The panicked gas mask and the superhumans in suits were swept away and disappeared by the successive lightning strikes.

The heat, light, and barrage of roars that filled and overflowed the five senses made it difficult to stay sane.

What did it mean that a single mage had cast such an absurd bombardment without any special incantation?

“H-how can he cast this level of incantation with an injured body……!!”

“No, they were planning to buy time from the beginning!!”

“We’ve been tricked…… Everyone, we have to run……!!”

Only then did the superhumans realize that Lenox had intended to kill them all at once, and they began to shout and run away.

Wham!!

They were only reduced to ashes by the waves of lightning that fell one after another from the other side of the street and swelled in size.

Screech!!

The asphalt-covered ground could not withstand the heat and melted, overflowing like lava.

The hot wind blowing from all directions melted even the glass windows of the building walls, and melted the steel and cement, revealing their insides.

A bizarre sight where the entire front of a dozen buildings on both sides of the street had been erased, revealing the internal structure.

However, Lenox simply stroked his chin, as if he had no feelings about what he had done.

“It’s not very efficient compared to the incantation time. Was the method of use wrong?”

On Lenox’s shoulder, an old booklet was spread open, scattering an unknown magical power.

The grimoire obtained as a result of information in the mid-term settlement of Pandemonium [a fictional place, likely a chaotic or dangerous location], the Five Laws of Extreme Art of the Fate’s Scale.

Lenox had used the contents of the grimoire, which was known to contain the secrets of five themes including time, space, and harmony, by weaving them into his own electric magic.

Among them, the theme that Lenox had used in this lightning storm was ‘Rampage.’

A new technique that combined the common magic [Thunder Calling] and the unique magic [White Fall], and then inflated the scale by adding the theme of the Five Laws of Extreme Art.

However, even after striking dozens of lightning bolts almost simultaneously into the entire intersection, Lenox’s expression looked dissatisfied.

“I thought the possibility of reaching it easily was low, but…….”

The Five Laws of Extreme Art was a grimoire that followed the laws of a lost world.

Therefore, Lenox had expected a dramatic improvement in the power and efficiency of magic by incorporating its principles.

However, when he actually used it, the time consumed for the incantation was longer than he had expected compared to the power.

The possibility of using this technique in a real battle where he needs to exert his power is not high.

“Cough, haaa……!!”

A terrible scream echoed from the spot where the lightning storm had swept through.

The man, struggling to get up, his body in shambles, had his melted gas mask fall off his face.

The man’s face, with the gas mask removed, was riddled with countless surgical scars and wounds, making it difficult to recognize his original form.

“Ughhhhh…….”

The aftereffects of the lightning penetrated even the smallest tissue units of the flesh, severing all connections of life in real time.

The flesh melted away from the spot, a little slower than the gas mask, with an unknown groan.

-Ban, Ban!! What kind of magic did you use that the entire power grid is paralyzed……!!

“Something happened.”

Lenox answered Jenny through the communication that was connected only after the aftermath of the lightning had subsided.

“I need someone to help with the cleanup, would that be okay?”

-……I’m sending an ambulance right away, so stay right there without moving!!

Click!!

“Hmm…….”

Somehow, after the rumor spread that he was injured, Jenny’s attitude towards him felt slightly different.

Rather than a reliable colleague, it was more like…….

-It’s like looking at a fragile glass craft.

“……Be quiet.”

Turning his back on the corpse that was evaporating into a puddle of blood, Lenox turned his gaze to the black coffin he was standing on.

Screech!!

He took out the bandaged corpse that had been lying in the coffin with magic, and roughly unwrapped the bandages.

The corpse of a young man was revealed inside.

It was still in good condition, not yet decomposed, but Lenox frowned at the sight.

“…….”

It was a face he didn’t recognize.

If it had resembled Evan’s face, or if it had been similar in build, he would have suspected a stand-in or a disguise.

However, the corpse that had been lying in the black coffin was nothing like the build or appearance of Evan Bailen that Lenox had set.

What on earth were Antares and the unidentified organization seeing that made them so sure this person was Evan Bailen, and why were they pursuing and fleeing?

There was only one way to find out.

“Davy.”

[Biometric data scan complete. I’ll cross-reference the data with the city government network.]

Beep……!!

The information cross-referenced through Lenox’s cell phone was output in real time.

Surprisingly, there was one matching result.

[Lowest security data grade. I found a code that was deleted from the missing persons’ biometric data storage. Missing person ID 34aenj16. I’ll mark the date the code was deleted.]

Lenox, having checked the date the ID was deleted from the database, quickly recalled his memories of that time and stopped moving.

When Lenox had just arrived in this city and was busy creating a new identity.

He had sought help from an expert to create an identity to use in the light, not just in the shadows.

“……I see.”

The method of forging an identity in this city was not to create a completely new identity.

It was to modify the personal information, including the names of missing persons or unofficial deaths, and to update the data in collusion with the officials of the relevant district.

The corpse lying in this black coffin was the missing person himself, who was used as the basic data when Lenox created Evan Bailen’s identity.

A ritualistic transfer technique that conceptually selects a sacrifice that has even a slight similarity to Evan himself.

Among the techniques Lenox knew, only shamanism and black magic paid attention to this kind of ritual.

Among them, the system of techniques and magic flow that remained in his memory.

What did it mean that they were trying to cast the ritualistic transfer technique used by the black magician Ermong not on Evan, but on Ban?

Someone suspects the relationship between Evan and Ban.

Antares had noticed that fact and was moving to track down the mastermind from a completely different place.

* * *

A huge chamber where only dozens of candles illuminated the room with a pale glow.

A man sitting in the center of a huge magic circle drawn with a thick black liquid was anxiously biting his lip.

“Damn it, why isn’t it working……!!”

The street, half-ruined by the shape of the lightning strikes that had fallen in succession.

The shape of a black coffin, unscathed, in the center of the explosion.

He could see someone opening the coffin and taking out the corpse, but he couldn’t see the face properly.

But even so, the man was muttering to himself incessantly, as if he knew who the other party was.

“My guess is certain. Considering the time and circumstances, I can’t think of any other possibility but this……!!”

The man, who was rapidly forming hand seals and chanting incessantly, flinched at the sound of a cell phone ringing from behind him.

Without even thinking of looking at the cell phone screen that was ringing, he forced himself to stare at the magic circle with his shoulders hunched.

“No, no…… If I can’t verify this fact with the city councilors, I’m a dead man……!!”

“I guess so.”

A calm voice echoed from behind the man.

With a chill that seemed to make his spine sink, the man’s heart dropped with a thud.

“After securing a corpse that is conceptually treated the same as Evan Bailen, the consciousness itself is transferred through a technique. It was a very interesting idea for something that was hastily put together.”

“……H-how did you get here!!”

“Considering who the creator of that technique is, it wasn’t perfect after all.”

The man, who had fallen off his chair, turned around with his eyes wide open.

A young man with long hair swept back was looking down at him with a smiling face.

The overwhelming magic flowing from his body. An oppressive force that even a man with no talent for martial arts could feel.

Antares said, looking at the man’s face, which had turned pale in an instant.

“A combination of shamanistic concepts and black magic…… It would have been an impossible attempt without the power of the black coffin, but it was possible because you got your hands on a very old family’s magic.”

At Antares’s words, which relentlessly pierced the core, the man’s face instantly darkened.

“P-please, spare me…… Please…….”

“But when you look into the darkest depths of black magic, you have to think about the opposite case as well. That’s why black magic…….”

Antares, looking at the man who was simply begging for his life without affirming or denying, smiled.

“Always needs a master or disciple who can act as a mirror.”

“Wh-what does that even……!! Ugh……!!”

At that moment, the man’s pupils rolled several times in place and turned over, and in an instant, the pupils themselves began to turn completely black.

Immediately after, the man stood up, exuding black magic from his entire body.

His expression had become cold and frozen.

“I didn’t expect a failed seer to call me.”

“…….”

“It’s meaningless. You know that, right?”

“Yes.”

Antares smiled.

“But it was something that was needed at least once. Don’t you think so, Underworld King?”