Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 646

“…….”Could Lenok easily understand that complex inner world and its origins? How she became an Executor of Machina, how she cherished this city and led the Ascension Gate project. After failing and being exiled, how she still wanders as a ghost, joining Pandemonium. There’s no need to try to understand and accept it. But…….

Click.

Lenok stowed the rifle she was holding and slowly withdrew her magic power.

“Lyman…….”

Mauzer called out to Lenok with a worried expression, but Lenok nodded and asked.

“If I grant your request, what can you do for me?”

She could pretend not to know what she was talking about and tell her to handle it herself, but Lenok chose to accept Mayah’s offer on the spot instead.

Hermes is planning to create a new gate using the entire Machine City, not just the Mind Core, to summon Ascended from the old world.

If the city-wide district relocation is just a preliminary step, and they are also releasing people to track Lenok, then as Mayah said, there isn’t much time.

The fact that Mayah revealed her hand first and explained the conditions also meant that she thought there wasn’t much time to negotiate.

Mayah replied.

“I will take care of all the consequences of everything you’ve done in this city, except for Hermes.”

“Take care of the consequences?”

“I know that Lyman isn’t your real name.”

“…….”

“I know what you’re thinking. You intentionally created a flimsy identity and planned to exploit that gap. But now, that fact is holding you back, isn’t it?”

Mayah smiled coldly.

“Looking back at your actions so far, I think I know who you are and what kind of superhuman power you possess… but let’s leave it at that.”

Mayah spoke to Lenok, who didn’t answer.

“The suspicion about your identity. The encirclement of this city around you. The military force of this city under martial law. I will handle it all myself.”

Only then did Lenok realize what Mayah was thinking and laughed.

“……I see. From the beginning, you were planning to trade with me using this fact?”

Lenok knows that she has disguised her identity, clashed with Hermes, and that Lyman’s identity is now under suspicion.

That’s why Mayah was saying that she would handle the suspicions and pursuit surrounding Lyman’s identity on Lenok’s behalf.

“If we delay any longer, the execution agency will pinpoint this workshop and surround it.”

Lenok noticed that Mayah’s gaze was scanning the back of the workshop, not Lenok.

“Decide quickly. If you accept the deal, we’ll start right away.”

“Alright.”

Lenok laughed and replied.

“If the best Executor of the Machine City is being chased all over Machina, it’s worth seeing at least once.”

“…….”

For a moment, Mayah’s eyes seemed to flash coldly, but she quickly composed herself.

If she could escape the pursuit and suspicion surrounding Lyman and gain another way to deal with Hermes, that would be enough.

Mayah is moving purely for her own purposes rather than having goodwill towards Lenok.

But if she offered Lenok a deal that would benefit both sides, there was no reason to refuse.

“If you’ve decided, let’s start right away. First, deal with the disciple of Hwadeokjin.”

Mayah gestured to Mauzer, then walked out of the workshop without waiting for an answer.

Mauzer grumbled, looking slightly dejected.

“Mayah Ranslet… she hasn’t changed at all. She’s still a person who is so sensitive and sharp that it makes me shiver.”

“Do you know her?”

“I saw her a few times in my master’s workshop.”

Mauzer sighed and leaned back in his chair, asking Lenok.

“So, are you planning to cooperate with that exile to solve this problem? Along with that person named Atermeyer from before?”

“…….”

“I still don’t understand… I don’t understand everything that’s happening in this city right now.”

Mauzer’s words were not wrong.

The old world and the Ascended. The existence of Godslayers and the Ascension Gate. Hermes’s goals and methods were things that were difficult to face without deeply understanding the secrets of the world from beyond destruction.

So, instead of explaining it to Mauzer, Lenok brought up the main point.

“While working with Mayah Ranslet, there’s something else I’d like to ask of you.”

“……Now?”

Mauzer muttered in disbelief, but Lenok immediately threw open the warehouse door.

Thud!

The inside of the warehouse was not only flooded with water, but also littered with all sorts of metal fragments.

Crumpled in a corner was a huge metal object, barely maintaining the shape of a bird, its entire body tattered.

Mauzer, recognizing the sight, stared at Lenok with his mouth agape.

“I know that the skills of a high-level mage reach the heavens, but… you even managed to bring back the wreckage of the exploration ship?”

The exploration ship was on the verge of exploding due to the immense load.

Even while escaping using the Eye of Feigenbaum [a magical artifact] as the exploration ship exploded, Lenok had collected as many fragments of the Night Raven as possible.

The weight measured through magic was almost half of what it was before reaching the seabed barrier, a miserable sight.

Normally, it would be right to give up on restoring it here and dispose of it, but Lenok had no intention of giving up on this equipment yet.

“I’ll neatly remove the remaining Armadelta alloy, and the goal is to restore the shape of the Night Raven for now.”

“The basic framework is already broken. Unless you repair it by adding materials that are much stronger than the original….”

The moment Lenok touched her sleeve, minerals that looked like purple crystals poured out from within.

Mauzer’s eyes widened slightly as he immediately recognized the identity of the minerals.

“…Grazia ore?”

“I brought some of the ore that was being mined near the seabed barrier. I heard it’s quite something when it comes to hardness.”

Lenok picked one up and smiled faintly.

“Isn’t it quite a suitable material to use as the new hull of the Night Raven?”

* * *

Machine City Machina, the central district.

Inside the Dangsa Street where the members of the Ex Machina Supreme Council reside.

In the lobby of the towering clock tower, members of the Machine Head faction gathered, watching the screen together.

The screen on the lobby wall showed at least eight different images.

All the screens showed the ever-changing city, quickly rotating the screens and observing the situation.

[Moving to the northwestern outskirts of the lower workshop district.]

[Reorganizing to the inland area of the Cheonil Salt production area.]

[Fixing coordinates of the bioengineering research district.]

Thud thud thud!!!

Various areas of the Machine City vibrated violently, changing, moving, and colliding in various places on the screen.

The council members watching the screen repeatedly drank the whiskey they were holding as if their throats were burning.

“…I don’t know if it was right to entrust this matter to Council Member Hermes. Although there was a problem with the Mind Core, I think we handled things too hastily.”

“It can’t be helped.”

Another council member received the grumbling as if they had been waiting for it.

“There are hardly any people left who have looked beyond the gate and returned unscathed. Moreover, Hermes is a member of Ex Machina and is still continuing his research.”

“…….”

“If it’s about the seabed barrier, his say is bound to be the strongest. Moreover, if several Meisters [master craftsmen] have died and an accident has occurred in the Mind Core….”

Since there was concrete circumstantial evidence, Ex Machina could not refuse his request.

Moreover, Hermes was one of the very few researchers who had been steadily achieving results in gate research until this incident.

Since he, who usually never spoke about the power of Machina, made such a request, it was natural that its weight would increase.

“So… has that artisan named Lyman been detained?”

“We haven’t been able to contact the Side Squad agents for an hour. It seems that communication itself has been cut off.”

“Then, it’s highly likely that Lyman is involved, as Council Member Hermes said.”

The vast lobby fell silent.

“We may have to assume the worst-case scenario.”

“What are you talking about? The opponent is just a powerless artisan. Rather, we should capture him as soon as possible before things go wrong…!!”

“Council Member Langmuir…? Where are you going?”

Langmuir ignored the other council members calling him and quickly moved his feet.

Langmuir was the one who had Lyman participate in the Meister selection ceremony.

As he was about to be held responsible for the results of the selection ceremony, he was caught off guard and knew how dangerous Lyman was.

He was not someone who could be explained simply as an artisan with unusually good skills and excellent intuition.

The ability to create the Night Raven, an unusually powerful combat weapon. The audacity to suddenly break into Langmuir’s mansion and settle things.

And the fact that he had not been caught by anyone yet, despite doing such things, meant that he was secretive and meticulous.

Perhaps even the fact that Lyman was now identified as a suspect was something he had intentionally planned.

Reaching that point, Langmuir had no intention of staying in this area any longer.

“Call the driver and have the car ready. I’m leaving the central district right now!!”

“Understood.”

After quickly giving instructions to the attendant waiting outside, he took out his cell phone from his pocket.

Boom!!

The entire building where Langmuir was standing seemed to shake with a shock.

“Wh-what is it?!”

“It’s an attack!! Ex Machina is under attack!!”

The other council members, startled, jumped out and shouted, and the guards and escorts quickly surrounded the council members and grabbed their equipment.

Whoosh!!

The wall of the building was cut away like a piece of paper and disappeared like dust.

Beyond that, an old truck was driving in, sputtering.

The window of the truck, which stopped in front of the council members, opened, and someone stuck their face out.

“Council Member Langmuir. It’s been a while.”

Langmuir’s face turned pale as he immediately recognized the person.

“L-Lyman…….”

“How dare a mere artisan…!!”

“Do you know where this is!!!”

The Ex Machina guards moved to blow up Lenok along with the truck, holding firearms and blades, but

Lenok didn’t even look at them and raised the long trumpet gun he was holding.

Keeing!!

The moment the trigger of the trumpet gun was pulled, the scenery beyond the muzzle shimmered like a mirage.

At the same time as a strange ringing, the guards all rolled their eyes and collapsed.

“Ggrrr…!!”

A battle that ended so easily that it was almost anticlimactic. An overwhelming result that didn’t even establish the minimum structure of exchanging blows.

The council members swallowed hard as they realized that dark red blood was flowing from the guards’ ears.

Lenok, holding the long trumpet gun, looked at Langmuir while holding the steering wheel.

“I thought you would have run away earlier, but you’re still here. Did you miss me or something?”

“…I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Well, that’s okay, so please come this way. There’s a place you need to go with me.”

At those words, another council member shouted.

“Where do you think you’re going? After doing this in the central district…!!”

“It seems you don’t know yet.”

Lenok leaned against the truck’s driver’s side window and shook the trumpet gun he was holding.

“All the council members gathered here. I’ve kidnapped them.”