Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 556

“I was about to return after finishing my patrol of the Ramahal District when Kaise contacted me, asking me to handle one more task.”

Claude said, rubbing his temples as if tired.

“He asked me to deliver a message by noon, so I shamelessly took a nap here. It was never my intention to mistreat you.”

Lenox, who had been listening to Claude’s words as if making excuses, quietly asked,

“Didn’t Kaise give you any explanation about me?”

“Hmm? Well, he did tell me to be careful, but about you… weren’t you one of the collaborators in this operation?”

“…Never mind. Continue.”

As Claude tilted his head, his hair, a mix of black and white, flowed down his shoulders.

It was a stark contrast to the Gyeolbaek Lenox knew, who had completely white hair and wore a pure white robe.

“Well, that’s not an important fact. Let me deliver Kaise’s message first.”

Claude straightened his posture and handed Lenox a bright yellow piece of paper from his pocket.

“What is this?”

“I don’t know either.”

“……”

At Lenox’s cold gaze, Claude replied as if making excuses.

“I was only told to deliver this to you. It was an unplanned task, so I didn’t have time for explanations.”

“Just deliver it?”

Considering Kaise’s attitude and actions so far, he wasn’t the type to throw out a riddle without any basis.

The shape of a talisman. The fact that nothing was drawn on it. Considering the color of the letters that should have been drawn on it…

‘Magic power, huh?’

Considering what kind of magic Kaise possessed, the answer was probably already determined.

The moment Lenox, thinking that way, held the talisman upside down and infused magic power into it in reverse order from the back,

The letter arrays that had been erased once on the bright yellow paper began to emerge as if reversing time.

[The space-time fixation device restoration will be completed 4 hours and 38 minutes from the time this message is delivered.]

“……”

[We will peel off the space with the power of Gilleon and enter the stabilization phase with Oliviera’s magic eyes.]

Having realized that there weren’t many messages that could be transmitted through the firewall, he immediately found that connection point?

Considering Kaise’s reversing magic, he must have written all the letters in reverse order from the end to deliver this message.

[Parden McQueen is investing all his efforts in guarding the power plant, but he has reached his limit. There will be a major disruption in the power plant’s security starting 2 hours ago.]

The letters that were being restored by reversing time covered the already written letters, making them increasingly difficult to read.

Now, only one phrase could be discerned from the letters that densely covered the talisman.

[There is only one chance to meet again. I believe you know what it means.]

Fwoosh!!

At the same time as the message left on the talisman was fully restored, the layered letters all shone brightly, drawing complex magic characters.

Kaise had made the overlapping appearance of the letters become the magic characters used in the talisman at the same time as the message playback ended, neatly erasing the remaining traces and turning it into a real talisman.

Claude, who was watching it from across, added, seeing that scene.

“That’s the talisman used to stop the control room functions of the particle power plant. I’ve seen Kaise use it when occupying the power plant facilities.”

“……”

Claude nodded towards Lenox, who was silent.

“It seems he has requested reinforcements to fill the security personnel.”

Why did Kaise use the past Claude as a messenger to deliver the message and the key to Lenox?

That was probably because, unlike other past superhumans, Claude at this point was the only one who didn’t know whether Lenox was an enemy or an ally.

However, if Claude returned to the power plant, it was obvious that he would learn the truth.

Now that things had come this far, perhaps Kaise didn’t care about revealing his intentions.

In other words, it was as good as saying that the conclusion of this situation that Kaise himself was thinking of was not far off.

Claude, who was looking at Lenox, who wasn’t saying anything, as if he found it strange, soon picked up his spear and stood up.

“Then, I’ll be on my way. I need to catch some sleep before the research is over…”

“Before you go, there’s one piece of advice I’d like to give you.”

“Hmm?”

At Lenox’s voice, who suddenly spoke, Claude turned around.

Lenox gave a sharp smile as he looked at Claude.

“There’s a very slim chance, but a monster that mimics your appearance might try to kill you.”

“……”

“Since it’s just an illusion, absolutely don’t engage it and run to the power plant. You won’t be able to handle it in such a tired state. Do you understand?”

Claude listened to Lenox’s words and quietly replied,

“That’s a very strange thing to say.”

“What do you mean?”

“No, before coming here, Kaise also said something similar to me… That’s what he meant by being careful.”

“……”

Claude, having confirmed Lenox’s cold expression, cautiously asked,

“Is something that shouldn’t be happening, happening in this area right now?”

“Yes.”

Lenox answered without hesitation.

“Kaise will explain it to you when you return to the power plant.”

“…I understand.”

Claude nodded and gestured with his eyes as he left the cathedral first.

“Take care. You too.”

“……”

Thud!!

At the same time as the door closed, Claude’s presence quickly faded into the distance of the cathedral.

A movement so fast that even Lenox couldn’t estimate its speed.

Although he didn’t know the circumstances, Claude Azlan at this point was a seasoned warrior with plenty of experience.

If Kaise and the person receiving the message said the same thing at the same time, he would know that there was a good reason for it.

After confirming him, Lenox slowly turned around and muttered,

“It’s too late to catch up and hunt him now.”

A heavy silence.

But Lenox continued without paying attention.

“With this, your wish will not be fulfilled for the time being.”

At that moment, a pure white flash flickered in a corner of Lenox’s vision.

Whoosh!!

A single shot that surpassed even the gap between a human’s perception and reaction to external stimuli.

However, Lenox didn’t bother to perceive, judge, and react to that flash.

The moment something moved at a speed beyond the limit within the sensory range he had spread through magic power detection, the teleportation formula was automatically constructed.

Lenox’s body moved one step to the side, barely avoiding the attack.

The flash that grazed his neck shattered the sky of the cathedral and burst into a huge ring of light.

Kwaaaang!!

The white flash spread out in a cone shape, scattering the fog and revealing the clear sky.

The manifestation of power that completely evaporated the upper part of the cathedral building in an instant.

However, instead of being surprised by that fact, Lenox turned to look at the dissipating shape of the magic power and said,

“I told you I would teach you how to move your body with your mind.”

By now, someone was standing in the place where the white flash had erupted.

With his disheveled white hair, wearing a tattered robe that had fallen apart. The spear shaft in his hand was half twisted and bent in a miserable state.

“But even if your mind doesn’t reach it, if you’re aware of it in advance, you can somehow react. That’s the privilege given to superhumans who use magic power.”

Lenox chuckled as he looked at the man.

“That evasion just now. Did it look okay to you?”

“…It was excellent enough.”

Gyeolbaek, who had raised his head, smiled grimly.

“So excellent that I want to kill you on the spot.”

“……”

“Knowing my wish, yet choosing to ruin it before my eyes… Do you know how much pain that fact brings me?”

Gyeolbaek, staggering as he walked out, muttered,

“I was enduring, thinking that if I just held on a little longer, just a little more… It’s all over.”

Clank!!

Gyeolbaek, who had readjusted his slightly bent spear, was suddenly standing right in front of Lenox.

The white eyes hidden within his pure white hair were stained with a madness that could no longer be concealed.

“Now, I can’t hold back any longer.”

“Ban!!”

Felix, who had jumped in at the explosion from the cathedral, widened his eyes as he saw Gyeolbaek confronting Lenox.

“Ah, Mr. Azlan…!! Where have you been all this time!!”

It wasn’t Gyeolbaek who answered that, but Lenox.

“He was looking for a chance to hunt his past self.”

“H-hunt? No, more than that, did Mr. Azlan also participate in the operation back then?!!”

Felix stammered.

“Why didn’t you tell us that beforehand…!!”

“It’s obvious. If you knew that, you would quickly be able to guess Gyeolbaek’s purpose.”

Lenox explained without avoiding Gyeolbaek’s eyes.

“How could you explain to others that the guardian of the Turyeon Gate [a significant location], a war hero, and a level 8 extreme-ability user was trying to improve his madness by taking over his own body?”

“……”

“He knew that this space was infinitely close to the real past, but ultimately not the real thing. That’s why Gyeolbaek…”

Lenox said with conviction.

“He was planning to steal and replace his own body parts from the past.”

* * *

At Lenox’s shocking statement, the destroyed cathedral fell silent.

Felix, looking at Gyeolbaek with an unbelievable expression, and Ilya, with a somewhat calm demeanor.

Even Gyeolbaek, who had lowered his head.

“Considering that Gyeolbaek himself has difficulty controlling basic impulses and excitement, he was probably aiming for the pituitary gland, which is in charge of the endocrine hormones.”

Only Lenox’s voice, breaking the silence, echoed.

“It’s located deep inside the brain, but because it’s relatively small, someone with Gyeolbaek’s skill could remove it without much damage. Since it’s his own body, there’s no reason to worry about side effects or backlash. No, rather…”

For Gyeolbaek, who had become so powerful that he had reached the extreme level, it was practically the only solution.

The body, which had become whole beyond the hierarchy, would not accept any variables or foreign substances that were not itself.

“Stealing and replacing healthy body parts from his past self…”

Felix, having understood what Lenox was saying, gripped his hammer tightly.

“Is that really possible?”

“Gyeolbaek probably knew what was happening in this closed area. He also knew that it was okay to replace body parts like this.”

Lenox continued to explain.

“That’s because this space is not a real past timeline, but it’s not just an illusion or a fragment of memory either.”

“……”

“This distorted space-time, mixed with Kaise’s power, is a part of a space-time domain that is infinitely close to the real thing. Decades ago, he really succeeded in capturing a specific time zone of the world and fixing it within this area.”

Ilya, who had been silently looking at Gyeolbaek, bit her lip slightly and said,

“Actually, I saw the past Mr. Azlan directly on the way to the power plant.”

“……”

“At the same time, I could guess why Mr. Azlan accepted this mission. But I never imagined that such a secret was hidden…”

Come to think of it, unlike Felix, Ilya seemed to not expect much help from Gyeolbaek from the beginning, even with Lenox’s words.

I thought there was a change of heart, but was it because she had already witnessed who Gyeolbaek was targeting?

“Why was the Central Council so eager to hide and conceal this fact?”

“Isn’t it understandable because it’s a miracle of this magnitude?”

“Huh?”

“Kaise was a genius of his time, and there were hardly any researchers who reached an equal level in that era. That’s the same even now, decades later.”

Lenox smiled as he looked at Ilya’s surprised expression.

“They couldn’t continue the research, nor could they develop it in a different direction. All they could do was preserve it in this place.”

The magic power of reversing time. The powerful and capable colleagues who were with him.

In the midst of the great storm of war, where the monsters of the city moved with all their might for a single project.

Even the existence calling itself Alcaide, who was directing the project with Kaise.

It was a fragment of a miracle created by the gathering of talents and intellect that could not easily come together as one.

From the city government’s point of view, rather than carelessly touching it and damaging or losing it, it was only natural to try to maintain at least the original.

Unless a researcher with a genius-level talent that surpasses Kaise appears.

‘That’s right. Perhaps the fact that the Senate was directly inspecting events like the expo itself…’

It might have been an attempt to find talent capable of handling the secrets left in the closed area.

That was something that needed to be confirmed by joining the Central Council’s Technical Advisory Committee under the identity of Evan Bailon.

“After the lifting of the Prohibition Edicts, I spent a long time searching for the strong individuals who remained in my memory.”

Gyeolbaek, who had been silent for a long time, said in a subdued voice.

“I believed that I had to face them directly and compete to calm the boiling excitement. But it wasn’t.”

“……”

“No matter what I do, the longing for battle and blood that exists within me grows stronger, staining and overturning my very foundation. It’s invading my reason and driving me mad.”

A tone so shaky and unstable that it was hard to believe it belonged to a warrior who had been with them even inside the closed area.

Even though this level of cracks had already spread throughout his mind and body, was he forcibly hiding it and pretending to be calm?

Gyeolbaek Claude Azlan had been aware of the problem with his mind for a long time.

To solve that problem, he continued his external activities as soon as the Edicts were lifted, facing strong individuals like Maiya Renslit.

Even so, he realized that it couldn’t be the answer, and he was planning to head to the closed area as a last resort.

To steal the healthy body of his past self and take it to return to normal.

“What do you want?”

Gyeolbaek asked.

“As you can see, I no longer have any ability to continue the operation. Nor do I intend to.”

“……”

“I’m sorry for dragging you into this, but if you run away now, you might be able to save your lives somehow.”

He quietly nodded, gripping the bent spear shaft.

“Go. Don’t look back again. Before I go completely mad and extend my killing intent towards you.”

“No, there is a way.”

Lenox looked at Gyeolbaek and met his gaze.

“Help us get back into the particle power plant.”

“…What?”

“If the past you, who we just missed, properly followed my advice and Kaise’s warning, he will never leave the vicinity of the power plant. Do you not understand what this means yet?”

Lenox continued, looking at the silent Gyeolbaek.

“The past self that you abandoned the operation to search for is now, for the first time, able to have his location identified in this area.”

“……”

“Nothing has changed. You just need to help us get into the particle power plant and meet Kaise again.”

“From the beginning…”

Gyeolbaek muttered as if in pain.

“From the beginning, were you planning to use me like this?”

By making the past Gyeolbaek run away, Lenox prevented the current Gyeolbaek from achieving his goal immediately, and set the stage so that he had no choice but to head to the power plant.

Gyeolbaek was asking if the words he had advised his past self at the end were words thrown out after considering all of that.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Who was it that abandoned us and went looking for their own purpose while being in charge of directing the operation?”

Lenox spat out a cold sneer.

“I’m not going to criticize that fact here. I’m just proposing a compromise that will benefit all of us.”

“……”

“Just help us get inside the power plant. After that, you can go find your replacement or whatever.”

“…Who do I have to face?”

Lenox, sensing that the answer was practically a kind of affirmation, smiled.

“You’ll have to face Madrich Onion. Can you do it?”