Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 663

Clang, clang!!

In the dark room, the sound of thick iron chains being fastened echoed.

Under the dim light, only the shadows of dozens of people moving busily passed by.

Amidst the bustling crowd, a strange silence hung where no one spoke.

Only the emotions of fear, watching and guarding something sunken in the center of the room, could be felt.

Click.

From the far end of the hallway, a door opened, and several people walked into the room.

Without a word, the people exchanged glances and moved their hands, and the chains that were heavily hanging in the center of the room slightly spread to the left and right.

Clatter!

Along with the grating noise, a young man in a patient gown appeared from among the pile of chains.

Although he looked somewhat tired, his unique sharp features had not lost their edge.

Flash!!

As his face was revealed, the lights in the room turned on, and the young man frowned as if dazzled.

“This is…”

What came into the young man’s eyes, now accustomed to the bright light, were dozens of people watching him.

Each and every one of them was a superhuman with skilled magic and trained bodies.

Superhumans guarded the young man with weapons at close range, and thousands of gun barrels all aimed at Lenok from outside the room.

And several people stood in front of him wearing suits that covered their entire bodies.

“…I see.”

Only then did Lenok, understanding the situation, chuckle and stretch lightly.

Clang!

As he tried to move his shoulder, dozens of thick chains pressed down and bound his arms tightly.

Compressed magic would rush in and restrain him at the slightest hint of force.

A long, tombstone-like magic stone was hanging around his neck like a restraint, and his limbs were floating in the air, bound and suspended.

The chains and ropes wrapped around his back and fixed in various places in the room were densely engraved with unknown characters, adding to their power and restraint.

All the materials and restraints that wrapped around Lenok’s body were enhanced with the effects of magic and spells, trying to hold him in that space itself.

“Nasisa. I did act on my own, but…”

Lenok chuckled and pretended to lift his unmoving shoulder.

“I came back properly like this. There’s no need to overreact, is there?”

[Overreact?]

The answer came from the person in the suit standing in front of Lenok.

A sharp and high-pitched female voice that was ear-piercing to the listener.

[You seem to think this situation is a joke?]

“…”

Chiiik!!

The figure of a young woman removing her helmet and revealing her face.

The executioners standing next to her looked nervous and opened their mouths.

“Ms. Fbiya.”

“It’s dangerous. If you show your face to him…”

“The Impregnable Fortress of Vulcan.”

The woman called Fbiya said, looking at Lenok with a cold expression.

“The fact that you received high-level medical services even after committing a series of heinous crimes was not because we were afraid or worried about you.”

“…”

“It was merely a consideration to leave the past as a mistake and to secure your testimony for the city’s rapid normalization.”

Fbiya, staring intently at Lenok’s face as she met his gaze, muttered.

“To use the Ex Machina’s guidelines [a set of rules or principles] to find the best solution in this way… We expected too much from a back-alley wizard.”

At her icy words, everyone closed their mouths and listened quietly.

“From now on, your safety will be directly managed by Ex Machina. We will control all your life signs and magic flow, and ensure that your dangerous power is not used in vain.”

“…”

“The crime of deceiving citizens by impersonating a craftsman without permission. The karma of massacring the city’s soldiers and scattering blood. The sedition of looking into the city’s most dangerous secrets and inciting chaos.”

Fbiya said.

“Until you receive a fitting price for all of that-”

“There’s one thing you said wrong.”

Clang!!

At the same time as Lenok’s mouth opened, a dozen executioners thrust their blades between Lenok’s neck and forehead.

“Shut your mouth, Impregnable Fortress.”

“A wizard who can’t even use magic…!!”

“…”

But Lenok ignored the stinging sensation on his skin and quietly turned his gaze to one side.

The face of the executioner aiming at Lenok’s neck.

He met the executioner’s gaze and stared intently into his eyes.

Without any magic, without any momentum, he just stared into his eyes.

Yet, the executioner’s expression gradually wavered and crumbled, and the tip of the blade he was holding began to shake slightly.

“Eek…!!”

The blade shook and lightly grazed Lenok’s neck, and the blood dripped down the chains.

The complexions of the other executioners changed drastically upon confirming that Lenok’s body was bleeding.

“Taven, what are you doing!!”

“Get a grip!!”

Of course, they were not worried about Lenok getting hurt or bleeding in this place.

The blood of a high-ranking wizard is itself a powerful magic aggregate and a material that also acts as a catalyst for spells.

Moreover, the opponent was a monster who wielded his talent without restraint, even without using magic.

No one could predict what kind of variable Lenok’s spilled blood would act as in this place.

However, despite the other executioners’ shouts of rebuke, the executioner called Taven did not stop.

“Ah, ah…!!”

Rather, he could not take his eyes off Lenok’s eyes, faintly convulsed, and took a step back.

At the same time, Taven, who had inadvertently distanced himself from Lenok, regained his senses and turned pale.

“Th-this is…!!”

Taven, belatedly realizing what kind of disgrace he had shown, stammered, then gave up and bowed his head.

Only then did Lenok, taking his gaze away, smile and turn his head towards Fbiya.

“You said it wasn’t because you were afraid?”

“…”

At Lenok’s cynical words, Fbiya was unable to retort for the first time and remained silent.

Because that reaction just now showed how those gathered here thought of Lenok.

He had only taken one step back.

But what if that was the result of overwhelming an elite like an executioner without using any magic?

Just by giving a glance and throwing a gaze, they would be wary, convulse, and show an opening.

Lenok’s words were not a bluff, but a part of a miracle that could manifest at any time, and a reaction that was impossible without the ominous conviction that it would surely reach him.

Because the executioners, who were more sensitive and talented in their senses and intuition, knew well what kind of wizard Lenok was, they were overreacting.

“It’s not strange. There are too many theoretical prerequisites needed to restrain a high-ranking wizard.”

Lenok, who had eased the tense atmosphere around him with just one exchange, smiled.

“It would have been difficult to even attempt without the talents or technology of the people from the time when the Family City was at its peak. Unless you brought that esper-like guy.”

High-ranking wizard. Moreover, capturing a wizard who transcended ranks like Lenok was virtually impossible.

A realm where one transcends ranks and begins to manipulate space as a result.

How much human resources and investment would be needed to keep such people alive and restrained, not to kill them?

Even if those of equal skill pressured them with numbers and prepared with all the conditions and circumstances met, it was not something that could be done with certainty.

[Aoshu Spero has stepped down from the field due to the runaway of his innate ability.]

A man wearing a suit that covered his entire body, standing next to Fbiya, answered instead.

[As someone who participated due to the arbitrary judgment of some Ex Machina committee members, he will not respond to the interrogation of you.]

“Then, it would be nice if you could remove these heavy chains.”

Lenok looked at him and smiled.

“Do we really have to go through this uncomfortable process knowing it’s meaningless?”

[In order to convince all members of the organization, procedures and justifications that are appropriate for that are necessary. This case is the same.]

The man said, stepping forward past Fbiya as if he found it interesting.

[The fact that you were confined in a detention facility. The fact that you did not collapse mentally even after facing Spero. All the seemingly minor arrangements lead to the promised results, don’t they?]

“A promise…”

[I think I know why the executioners are so afraid of you.]

The man whispered.

[Overwhelming firepower and prodigious skill. Combat experience from countless battlefields. But what’s most dangerous is the transcendent intuition itself that’s inside that head.]

“…”

[There is something that makes warriors more afraid than losing a fight and dying. The unpleasant feeling of being completely dug up and scraped clean… If you investigate what you’ve done, there’s an inevitable fear that you’ll come to know.]

“Your flattery is long.”

Lenok replied indifferently.

“What do you want to say?”

[Instead of Vulcan, who doesn’t recognize you, wouldn’t you like to work for the Machine City?]

Click!!

What appeared after removing the helmet was the face of an elderly man full of scars.

The appearance of having gone through all sorts of hardships. The cloudy, distorted gray eyes suggested that the man was a soldier who had lived on the battlefield for a long time.

“You wield magical talent, but you are a man closer to a warrior than anyone else. You may not be a soldier who follows orders, but you are a person who is always accustomed to fighting and producing the best results.”

“…”

“In the name of Ex Machina, I will sponsor you, create a position, and entrust you with a unit. I will give you the authority to wield the city’s resources and talents as you please. If you want, you can even take the position of head of the executive agency.”

“Ch-Chief…!!”

The flustered executioners inadvertently called out the man’s title and stopped him.

That much the proposal the man had thrown out was unconventional, and it meant that it was something that could be done enough to shake the executioners.

“If even a part of that ability is used for Machina, it will be enough. I saw that much potential in you.”

“Potential…”

Lenok muttered along with those words, then slightly lowered his head.

Dozens of superhumans surrounding him and hundreds of officials watching him from beyond the screen.

Everyone was watching his movements, waiting for Lenok’s lips to move.

In the quiet silence, Lenok, who had raised his gaze, said.

“Okay, I understand your side’s thoughts. What’s next?”

“…Next?”

“Machine Head and Steel Heart. Weren’t you conveying different positions from each other?”

Lenok asked, looking at Fbiya and the Chief with a blank face.

“Then, we should also hear what the War Hammer has to say.”

“…”

“…”

Ignoring the two who were at a loss for words, Lenok, who had accurately found one person among the people standing in suits, asked a question.

“Nasisa. Isn’t the preparation not finished yet?”

[…You knew from the beginning.]

Nasisa, who had taken off her helmet, walked forward and looked at Lenok, asking.

“Since when did you notice?”

“Well… Since the committee members deliberately walked in hiding their faces?”

Lenok answered calmly.

“Some of them are people who have met me, so they seem to be hiding their appearances, but such suits can’t hide it.”

As Lenok’s transparent gaze reached them, the committee members who were still hiding their faces all flinched.

“Weight and gait, the speed of breathing, heartbeat and the twisting of joints… There are facts that are revealed even if they are not visible.”

“…”

He remembered the habits of the committee members he had met before and identified their identities by comparing them with the suits.

At those absurd words, the committee members and executioners were speechless and closed their mouths.

Lenok ignored such reactions and asked Nasisa, who had come in front of him.

“So, what does the War Hammer want to say? Looking at your actions so far, I think your intentions represent that faction’s position.”

The three factions that define Ex Machina.

The Machine Head of the scholars, the Steel Heart of the warriors, and the War Hammer of the craftsmen.

Among them, Fbiya of the Machine Head pressured Lenok, and the Chief of the Steel Heart, on the contrary, tried to recruit Lenok.

While showing conflicting positions and attitudes, they did not intervene in the moment of talking with Lenok, an artificial consideration.

Lenok confirmed that and realized that at this moment, the three factions were simultaneously expressing different positions to Lenok.

“The fact that the Machine Head rejected me and the Steel Heart tried to persuade me is interesting, but neither of them is what I want.”

Lenok smiled, watching Fbiya and the Chief’s expressions distort with different emotions.

“Now, I want to honestly hear what you want. If not…”

“Maya Lenslit has requested a plea bargain.”

“…What?”

An unexpected name that made Lenok, who had been silent, ask again.

Nasisa, not hiding her discomfort, answered, looking at Lenok with her arms crossed.

“She has put out some of the information she possesses as a down payment in exchange for your pardon.”

“…”

“Our War Hammer, as a craftsman, considering Lyman’s contribution to the city and the effectiveness of the plea bargain… is trying to propose a deal.”

In the quiet silence, only Nasisa’s voice echoed.

“In exchange for a special pardon and guarantee of status, we request cooperation in all tasks necessary for the city’s recovery, including confidentiality, witness attendance, and cooperation in the trial.”

“…I see.”

At that moment, the chains that had been tightly wrapped around Lenok’s body began to unravel in the opposite direction.

As if the very thing that had been strongly binding his body was an illusion, the chains fell powerlessly on the spot.

At the same time, the spell characters and binding magic engraved on the chains shattered like glass, rising above his head like a haze.

Chwaaaang!!

With a strange tearing sound, the surrounding space rotated and collapsed as if it were being smashed.

Lenok, who had nonchalantly withdrawn his arms and landed in the center of the crack.

At the sight of the wizard who was not bound by restraints from the beginning, everyone’s faces turned pale.

Lenok, who had walked down in front of Nasisa, looked at her and smiled faintly.

“Now you’ve brought a proper condition. Right?”