Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 713

The image of the factory ablaze overhead. The ruins of a collapsing theme park, with flames surging from all directions. The ticket booths and commercial buildings crumbled, unable to withstand the impact and heat, emitting deafening roars. Beyond the shattered debris across the distorted ground, Lenox and Feisha stood facing each other. Scattered at their feet were the corpses of hundreds of enhanced individuals. Only five were barely breathing, and the fate of two others was unknown. “C-Commander…” Stockton muttered weakly, his voice on the verge of breaking. He bit his tongue to desperately maintain consciousness, and spoke. “Kyonroe… hasn’t gone mad… something’s missing…” “Yeah, I know.” Feisha replied, her eyes fixed on Lenox. “A guy who’s gone mad from blood and fighting wouldn’t feel like this in the first place.” “……” “Sometimes, there are guys like that.” Feisha chuckled, leaving Lenox in silence. “They’re weirder than those who are crazy to know the ending. Or rather, isn’t that proof that they’re truly mad?” The overflowing stench of death, Feisha’s cackling as if she had no interest in her own subordinates fallen at her feet. Even Lenox found her eerie voice and demeanor unsettling. But regardless, Lenox was calmly organizing his thoughts about Feisha. Feisha Grisburn, the Demon Princess of Dead Rise. A serial killer who had killed countless people in the Balkans in the past, and the mentor of Beck Clinton, who belonged to the Siger Bang gang. A physical ability user who wields powerful spirit manipulation, and a master spear wielder herself. Feisha’s achievements, which were ambiguous when they met at the casino, now felt clearer than ever as she expressed her murderous intent. It was hard to guess the exact depth, but this desolate aura clearly surpassed the usual hierarchy. However, Lenox had somewhat anticipated Feisha’s abilities. ‘I had heard about Feisha’s past.’ The fact that she had a one-on-one duel with Antares when she was active in the Balkans. She was defeated and pushed to the brink of death, her spine broken, and she had been focusing on recovery at the central front. But Lenox was more concerned with the fact that Feisha had survived the fight, rather than her defeat against Antares. ‘Antares isn’t the type to be lenient enough to spare an opponent he’s fought once.’ He lowered his gaze deeply, watching Feisha’s figure slowly approaching him. ‘If that seer couldn’t kill Feisha, there must have been a good reason.’ Antares was a seer who had glimpsed the ending and returned, and as a result, had even determined his own ending. He was one of the few prophets who traveled around the continent, trying to change the ending with the foresight he had obtained. Would he engage in battle with the intention of sparing an opponent he had decided to fight, having obtained a predetermined answer sheet? If he couldn’t kill her even though he had essentially excluded Feisha’s future, there must be a reason. Just the fact that she had thought of fighting Antares one-on-one suggested that Feisha’s martial prowess was exceptional. And if she had returned to the Balkans after nearly being killed by Antares once. Wouldn’t it be possible only if she was confident that she wouldn’t be pushed back by Antares? “I thought so at the casino, but you’re a strange one.” Feisha, who had stepped closer, smiled at Lenox. “What are you pondering about even in this situation?” “……” “Don’t think. Thinking is something you do before a fight.” Behind her, the forms of unknown spirits flickered, representing her changing thoughts and emotions. [Squeeeal!!] The first to stop behind Feisha was a plump boar, emitting an unpleasant squeal. The Demon Princess, who had possessed the spirit of a beast covered in black fur and dripping saliva, extended one hand to the side. Thwack!! The boar’s form opened its mouth wide, and from within, it spat out a long spear shaft. A bizarre long spear emitting a glossy sheen. The bell on the tip rang with a clear sound. The moment she grasped it, Feisha’s aura changed drastically. Her already faint presence sank even deeper, and the whites of her eyes disappeared as she looked at Lenox. Feisha’s aura became calm, as if she were possessed by something, or preparing to be. “If you don’t want to die, focus on me.” A chilling scream flowed from her lips, so eerie that it was impossible to tell where she was looking. “Desperately struggle, and think only of me until the moment you die!!!” “Who says so?” The moment Feisha’s spear disappeared from its place, Lenox also gathered his magic and swung it at his fingertips. [White Fall] [Flying Azure] The bizarrely curved blade rotated lightly, and then unleashed a streak of pure white lightning. The moment the transcendent weapon and magic collided, they shattered and exploded into hundreds of fragments beyond the realm of consciousness. Bang!! The first clash of wills erupted from where they stood facing each other. The mere movement of the two monsters who had reached level 8 began to tear apart everything around them at an invisible speed. Kkkkkkkkkkkk!!!! Beyond the level of blades and magic being torn apart, a strange roar of twisting, splitting, and crushing echoed. A terrifying sound that seemed to burst and tear eardrums resonated like a song. The exchanges between the mage and the spear wielder invaded and covered each other’s gaps hundreds of times. Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Even without taking a proper stance, the speed of the swung spear exceeded sound. The power of the unleashed slashes was truly deformed, but even more astonishing was the speed of retracting the weapon. A paradox that the speed of retracting and converging was far faster than swinging with all one’s might. But the spear wielder’s martial art, which had realized that paradox in reality, transcended sound and space, transforming into power beyond the laws of physics. [Demon Spear: Throwing Back] Lenox also countered by simultaneously chanting dozens of unique spells to match that speed. [Piercing Thunderclap] [Night Thunder Dance] Drrrrrrr!!! While the spear was being swung, a noise that seemed to split space with a drill echoed. The crushed and twisted radiance of lightning swirled at his fingertips, tearing through the mangled space and bouncing off. Beyond the speed of perception, fragments of trajectories that moved ahead in the realm of thought scattered. Numerous trajectories of attacks that dug into the base of Lenox and Feisha’s consciousness. Numerous lines, split into hundreds and thousands, changed their paths and directions every moment, judging life and death. Transcending the current time where the spear and magic collided, they weighed the predictions and repercussions in the past and future. The first clash that occurred immediately upon encountering each other. Moreover, an exchange where they directly traded their strategies without moving from their positions. Crack……!! The realm of calculations and intuition that had reached its limit. With a hallucination like sparks flying in their minds, the trajectories that had been swaying like a piano melody instantly merged into one and rotated. The lightning that Lenox held in reverse and swung collided precisely with the tip of Feisha’s spear and stopped. Kaaaaaang!!! The exchanges that had been clashing and crossing over hundreds of times before two breaths could be taken, stopped as if they had made a promise. “……!!!” Lenox and Feisha, their faces turned to each other almost simultaneously, with the shockwaves crossing behind them. Feisha’s lips twitched. Her pupil-less eyes gleamed with murderous intent and excitement. “You, you can see it. Right?” “I think that’s what I should be saying.” Lenox smiled. Lenox’s left eye was now glowing with a clear purple magic eye. “So that’s why you survived your defeat against Antares. It seems you were greatly influenced by that battle.” The purple magic eye engraved in his left eye was the power to visualize Lenox’s mental state, which observed the branching points of possibilities. It was a power that was designated as an innate ability simply by visualizing Lenox’s own mental state, and was opened in the form of a magic eye. The culmination of martial arts born from long years of combat experience, transcendent intuition, and judgments honed by facing countless monsters. But Feisha had forcibly countered the last lightning strike that Lenox had thrust in at the end of the exchange, creating a forced state of equilibrium. It wasn’t a battle of wits fought head-on, but a strange sense of incongruity, as if she had peeked at the answer and forcibly matched the tempo. Lenox remembered where he had felt this sensation before. A strange unpleasantness felt from seers like Antares, or from those with divine revelation abilities like the priestesses of the Order. “Future sight? No, it’s a much weaker and fainter power than that. It’s so weak that it can’t even be called an ability.” Lenox muttered as he slowly stepped back. “It’s just a clumsy imitation of Antares’s power… but it seems like you can use it at will.” Feisha’s lips twitched at Lenox’s words, which unhesitatingly mentioned Antares’s name, but she did not deny it. Lenox also didn’t wait for an answer and simply spoke the speculations that naturally came to mind. “That’s why you were so engrossed in gambling at the casino. If you were trying to train your future sight aptitude, probability games would be effective.” Could it be that she had been defeated in the battle with Antares and, rather, awakened her aptitude by being influenced by his power? If so, it could explain why Feisha had not only recovered from her injuries but had also become a high-ranking powerhouse. And why Antares had failed to kill Feisha in that battle and let her go. “You’re wrong. It’s not like I discovered a new ability or aptitude now.” Feisha said, caressing the spear shaft. Even though the exchange had stopped, she was not impatient. She simply gently stroked the spear shaft, which had heated up rapidly during the fierce battle. That leisurely hand movement felt more dangerous to Lenox, as if it were about to explode at any moment. “It’s just that I’ve come to know how to enjoy the process a bit more… should I say?” “……” “As I pondered how to kill rather than who to kill, I came to understand something more.” Feisha shrugged. Behind her, an owl with huge eyes had appeared. The bizarre form of an owl, its two eyes bloodshot as it glared at them. A much more bizarre and powerful spirit possession manipulation than the one Beck Clinton used. “From then on, the spirits began to escape my control… and after realizing that, I became more interested in the method than the result.” “Like the games at the casino?” “Yes. Like those games.” Feisha’s mouth stretched wide to both sides as she looked at Lenox. A bizarre smile, twisted like a ghost. Like a child who couldn’t bear to hide their true feelings. Not who to kill, but how to kill. Could her distorted mental state, which had come to admire the aesthetics of death, have transcended the hierarchy and reached level 8? If so, the degraded future sight she imitated must also be seen as a deepening of her way of handling spirits, rather than the awakening of a new ability. Crack!! ‘At the Demon Realm Conference, Damerus treated Feisha condescendingly, but he showed respect for her martial prowess.’ Information he had received from Ban and Victor’s identities was quickly pieced together in his mind. ‘That’s because, regardless of Damerus being higher in the Dead Rise internal hierarchy, his skills are not necessarily superior. Considering that—’ The internal positions or ranks of Dead Rise were assigned regardless of individual martial power. Meaning that even if someone was Feisha’s superior, there was no guarantee that they were stronger than her. That was information that Lenox, who might have to face Dead Rise in the future, could not overlook. The moment Lenox maintained a precarious distance from Feisha and spurred his magic. “That’s excellent intuition. But I don’t like that way of thinking.” Feisha whispered. “You’re fixing the answer and fitting the process to it… your arrogance is sky-high. You think everything you think is right?” Thud!! At that moment, the satellite factory floating overhead exploded and began to tilt greatly to one side. The satellite factory began to fall, unable to withstand the damage. Had Tatiana destroyed the anti-gravity engine? But Tatiana’s expression as she jumped out of it was not bright at all. “Ban!!” Keeing!! A ringing sound in their ears. Before they could notice the strange sensation, both of their senses turned towards the far end of the sky. Tatiana, standing at the far end of the exploding factory, shouted with a pale face. Because of the distance, Lenox could only read her urgent expression. But that was enough for him to understand Tatiana’s intention. She had failed to destroy the engine inside the factory, or perhaps she hadn’t found the engine itself. The moment Lenox, sensing that, turned his gaze towards Stockton, who had collapsed far away, Feisha spoke. “We’ve made a lot of preparations for this plan. There’s no way we’d let things fall apart because of one crazy mage, right?” Lenox, who immediately understood the meaning of those words, said. “…You moved the unfinished engine to the launch pad. Even if things go wrong, you’ll succeed in the launch itself?” “It won’t change anything if a few dead mage souls are missing.” Clack!! She twisted the spear shaft and pulled it out from between Lenox’s lightning magic, and replied. “What’s important is that you are the authority receptor for the thermal system itself. Once the witch inserts the stolen treasure into the engine’s power unit, the rest will somehow work out.” Feisha said, and slowly began to take a stance. “So die here. Together with that witch who ruined this whole plan!!” Immediately after, fragments of the falling satellite factory fell on Lenox and Feisha. Thud!!! A huge crater formed under the commercial building where the ticket booth was located, along with a tremendous impact. A deafening roar. A vibration that seemed to shake their entire senses. A strange ringing that pierced their minds mixed and swirled. Beyond the ruins of the melting metal and dirt, the collision of lightning and spear flashes continued without ceasing. An exchange of power that had increased its speed several times more than the first clash, trying to seize each other’s vital points and steal their lives. Kugwagwagwa!!! As if using the impact of the factory falling as a rebound, a long steel structure quickly rose from the other side of the theme park. A shape that seemed to have been made to support something and secure a runway. Before they could even recognize that it was a facility made for satellite launch, intense flames ignited and burned the propellant. Kwaaaaaaa!!! The scene of the launch pad starting ignition, even though they had not yet taken the Phoenix Emblem from Lenox. Crack!! Feisha, who had stepped on Lenox’s shoulder, whispered. “After Lord Bajur reached enlightenment, we struggled to leave this city and seize a second chance.” Keeing!! A ringing sound echoed in both of their ears at the same time. Was it because their hearing was being damaged by the roaring sounds echoing from all directions? She lowered her head towards the bloodied Lenox and said. “That’s why I hate this city. Such a place where everything falls apart… I don’t want to have that kind of experience twice.” “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Lenox smiled wryly and tilted his head to the side. “But about Kaise Bajur, I also know a little something.” “What?” Click!! An old pocket watch fell from inside Lenox’s coat. The moment Feisha’s eyes widened beyond measure as she looked at the shape of the pocket watch spinning counterclockwise. “I understand what it feels like. Shall we start again?” Kiriirik!! Lenox, clutching the pocket watch, stabbed its second hand into his temple.