Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 796

“I understand that the Ascendant’s body, enshrined in the Interstice [a space between the material and spirit realms], was the vessel of the cult leader.”

Lenok spoke, watching the ship sink endlessly into the dark river below.

“But the fact that the Harbinger [a legendary berserker] is the cult leader himself and that the cult leader used the Harbinger’s vessel are completely different matters.”

[……]

“Which is it?”

Lenok asked again, looking at the silent priestess.

“Was the berserker, the Harbinger, who existed hundreds of years ago, the cult leader himself?”

The shocking truth that the cult leader had used the Harbinger’s body and had existed as a berserker who challenged the Ascension [a spiritual transformation] in the past.

The hollow realization that Lenok knew nothing about the cult leader after all.

But even so, there were still stories left for him to hear from the priestess.

The fact that the Harbinger was the cult leader himself and that the cult leader borrowed the Harbinger’s body were completely different scenarios.

Lenok knew that it was necessary to clarify this point at this moment.

[According to the doctrine, He existed without being bound by the shackles of the flesh at the same time as His descent…]

The priestess looked at Lenok silently, then put her hands together and began to pray.

The priestess naturally reciting the teachings of the cult.

[He did not even cling to His own vessel. Therefore, the vessel in the Interstice is both Him and not Him.]

“I’m not interested in wordplay using the cult’s doctrines. I told you.”

Lenok scoffed and shook his head.

“What I want to know is whether the cult leader has been hiding his identity in that way since hundreds of years ago…”

Suddenly, Lenok’s voice paused slightly.

Ironically, the explanation itself seemed to point to someone other than the cult leader.

Suppressing his agitation, Lenok quickly regained his composure and asked,

“Whether he has been repeating disguises as other beings like that.”

[……]

“Has the cult leader been existing in this world by borrowing other vessels besides the Harbinger?”

Perhaps it was because of Lenok’s momentarily wavering voice as he asked the question.

The priestess stared at Lenok for a moment before opening her mouth.

[When dealing with the cult’s rituals for generations, there are times when we look back at the memories of the previous priestesses.]

“……”

[The beginning was a very small trigger. It was not something He had longed for.]

The priestess murmured in a tone that seemed about to break, as if she were piecing together small breaths.

[But there was something that had to be done, even if it meant sacrificing everything…]

“……”

[He had made a choice…]

The priestess seemed hesitant to even mention the memory, as if she was recalling it.

Lenok felt an indescribably complex mix of emotions as he looked at her.

Who is the cult leader?

Who does he think he is?

What did he see and return with after choosing the path of a martial artist in the first world and unraveling the secrets of the world?

What did he think as he looked back at the destroyed world after succeeding in the Ascension and moving to the next world?

The flow of time and causality that only he remembers is so thick that it is impossible to fathom his feelings.

His journey, which may have started similarly to Lenok’s.

His existence, which abandons even his flesh and lives on in memories.

Is it strange that his actions, which have left behind causality by borrowing different names, seem so different and yet overlap in some ways?

“……”

It was quite a while before Lenok, who had been silent for a long time, spoke again.

“When I first met you, you said you were heading to Yorta to undo the curse of Jinwa.”

[……]

“You said that even if it meant accepting the death of your body, there was something you had to do, even as a soul.”

Lenok muttered.

“At that time, I thought those two statements meant the same thing, but…”

The reason why the priestesses Seina and Naidri headed to Yorta even after being sentenced to death by Jinwa, dragging their dead bodies.

It was to undo Jinwa’s curse placed on her body in the Interstice, but also to check the cult leader’s old vessel stored in the Interstice.

That determination that the priestess Seina Naidri had repeatedly vowed to do, even if it meant her death.

Lenok now understood that it was related to the Harbinger’s corpse.

“The Harbinger’s remains were enshrined in the Interstice a long time ago, so why is the cult trying to get their hands on it now?”

[……]

“Is there a reason why your cult leader, who has already used and discarded the Ascendant’s remains, needs to move again?”

The priestess is a being with the most outstanding ritualistic abilities within the Gui-do Order, which has hundreds of thousands of followers.

If such a talented priestess of the cult is moving for the cult leader’s vessel, wouldn’t it be the result of the cult leader’s own will?

What if the cult leader’s mention to Lenok was a foresight and arrangement of this future?

What if there was a huge plan prepared for the cult leader himself to move directly?

Just understanding the secrets hidden in the Interstice creates countless speculations that make it impossible to grasp the situation.

Because the time the cult’s master has sent is so thick and difficult that it was impossible to guess the purpose by reading just one secret.

However, the priestess shook her head at Lenok’s words with a hazy expression.

[If His manifestation was even slightly imminent, the entire cult would already be holding a grand festival.]

“Then?”

[After the Ascendant’s vessel had served its purpose, He made a deal with Yorta and enshrined it beyond the Interstice.]

The priestess said.

[The traces He left behind are so precious to us that the priestesses of the cult have been watching over even the vessel for generations. However…]

The priestess’s spirit, which had stopped speaking, began to emit a cold chill.

[Recently, the ritual connection with the remains He left behind has begun to be severed.]

“…The connection with the remains has begun to be severed?”

[The Papal State believes that the Soul Requiem Hall has tampered with His vessel in the Hall of Requiem.]

The priestess’s face, which had quietly raised her head, turned infinitely cold.

[The spirits trapped in the old Night Parade [a ritualistic event] have dared to break their promise with Him and invaded the sanctuary.]

“……”

Are they saying that the Soul Requiem Hall coveted the Ascendant’s body stored in the Interstice and began to tamper with it?

That certainly wouldn’t be for the common sense reason of preserving the Ascendant’s body or managing it with all their heart.

The reason why the fallen spirits who lost their bodies are tampering with a vessel that has lost its master.

The priestess knew that their purpose was infinitely impure and based on a desire that could never be overlooked.

[It is understandable that a vessel that has served its purpose is forgotten and disappears over time. I can also accept that it leads to the legacy He left behind.]

The priestess said.

[However, if what is enshrined in the Interstice begins to be misused against His will… I can never allow it.]

“……”

[Before even this soul has served its purpose, I intend to fulfill the last duty given to me as a priestess.]

The priestess asked, leaving Lenok without an answer.

[Sir. Would you please help me fulfill my mission?]

After hearing Seina Naidri’s words, Lenok finally realized the true purpose of the priestess’s visit to Yorta.

From the beginning, she had no interest in undoing Jinwa’s curse or observing the flow of the curse.

Even in death, she was dragging her body, fulfilling her last duty to protect the cult’s mission.

Although he could not understand the fanaticism that was based on the sacrifice of others, Lenok understood how desperately the priestess cherished her mission.

“Asking me to help the cult’s mission is ridiculous.”

Lenok, who had been silent, retorted with a cold laugh.

“I don’t like the cult’s crude fanaticism. There’s no need to say how broken a faith that has a distorted object of belief is.”

[……]

“I don’t know why I should watch you choose the wrong answer and crawl into it. But-”

Lenok said, looking at the calm spirit of the priestess, even as her doctrines were being denied in front of her.

“If we consider it a deal over the Ascendant’s body, I wouldn’t mind lending a hand.”

[…A deal, you say?]

“I’ll help prevent the Soul Requiem Hall from tampering with the Harbinger’s remains. In return, transfer the ownership of the remains enshrined in the Interstice to me.”

Lenok turned away, leaving the silent priestess, and asked.

“If your only goal is to prevent the Soul Requiem Hall from taking the Harbinger’s vessel, it wouldn’t matter if I managed it instead, would it?”

[……]

“Especially if it’s okay for it to be treated as a legacy, as you said.”

From the moment he confirmed the Harbinger’s remains enshrined in the Interstice, Lenok knew how valuable an artifact it was.

What does it mean that it is the body of a berserker who has earned the right to challenge the Ascension? That it was the vessel that the cult leader himself used to incarnate?

Just by examining and investigating that vessel, he could discover tremendous new possibilities.

Lenok, who had learned the Harbinger’s martial arts through training with Rancia, knew how absurdly high its potential was.

‘Just using the Ninefold Harbinger’s Eight Forms mixed with the Ouroboros became a counterattack that twisted the laws of physics.’

Lenok thought, looking at the priestess who was hesitating.

‘The strange sense of unity that exists between the Harbinger’s martial arts and the Ouroboros. At that time, I thought it might be a coincidence, but…’

Why the martial art called Ninefold Harbinger suited Lenok so well.

Why the power of the Ninefold Harbinger’s Eight Forms was so powerful, incomprehensibly so compared to the time and principles of its acquisition.

Was it possible that a martial art created by someone who existed as a martial artist a long time ago was passed down to Lenok after a long time?

The moment he learned the essence of the Ascendant Harbinger, he was able to attach a real answer to the doubts he had felt at that time.

He had only learned a few simple movements of the Ninefold Harbinger from Rancia.

If he investigates the Harbinger’s remains and the magic power contained within, he will be able to find out much more.

He has no intention of conducting human experiments, but even researching the composition of the Ascendant’s body could be a huge gain.

“Let me tell you, the reason for using the form of a deal is to borrow your abilities in Yorta.”

Lenok looked at the priestess and slowly adjusted his mask.

“Even if you refuse, if I enter the Interstice, I will act as I said, so make your own judgment.”

It would be easier if he could borrow the priestess’s abilities, but he had no intention of backing down even if she refused the deal.

Since it was Lenok’s job to carry out the work himself, it was also up to Lenok to handle the Ascendant’s remains after everything was over.

Even if Victor’s identity became hostile to the cult in the process, it didn’t matter now.

The priestess seemed to understand Lenok’s words, and nodded with a bitter smile.

[The Soul Requiem Hall and the Underworld. If I have to choose one… I should take the hand of an outlaw rather than a traitor.]

“……”

[I understand. After everything is over, I will leave the next steps to your discretion.]

It was certainly not a refreshing answer that accepted Lenok’s proposal.

It was just an acceptance that if the situation came to that, she would not be able to stop it with her own power.

Is it because that is the only authority that the priestess herself can allow, or is there another reason?

The moment Lenok was about to say something to the priestess, the ghost ship shook violently, and a heavy impact was felt.

Koo-oong!!

“…Have we arrived?”

Lenok turned his gaze to the window and realized that a completely different landscape was being reflected.

The shape of a huge ruin located under the waterway.

Ruins full of remains that had collapsed a long time ago, lost their original shape, and were covered in moss and rust.

The ghost shark that had been pulling the ship released the chain it was holding and began to swim around.

Numerous ships of unrecognizable shapes were going back and forth in all directions of the ruins.

“The 8th basement level of the Memorial Tower. Pabelon’s underwater garden.”

While Lenok was looking at the scene, a boy’s voice echoed from behind him.

The Inquisitor, Oris, who had entered the ship, was smiling at him.

“Now that we’ve come this far, you don’t have to worry about being tracked.”

“……”

“It’s one of the oldest ruins in Yorta, and the currents that pass through this place are connected to all the docks in Yorta.”

Oris asked, waving his hand like a fish.

“Just by that, can’t you roughly understand why the ancient civilization settled in such a harsh place?”

“…This isn’t the time to be explaining Yorta’s archeology.”

Lenok frowned, adjusting his mask, and turned his head.

“I’ll listen to why the Grand Inquisitor, who should be on the first basement level, did this first.”

“Well, it’s a shame that we met again like this. To be honest, I didn’t want to use such a crude method either.”

Oris raised his hand as if asking for Lenok’s understanding.

“But from the moment I saw you, I thought this might happen. If a guy who came to Yorta with the power of the Guide, he would be able to find out the secrets hidden in the Interstice soon.”

The Inquisitor chuckled and patted his stomach.

“I just thought I’d have another chance.”

“A chance?”

“If you heard the story from the Soul Requiem Hall, you would know?”

The boy said leisurely.

“The Night Parade of a Myriad Ghosts has already failed, but it’s not over yet. Everyone who participated in the Night Parade had to choose.”

“……”

“Whether to be trapped in the endless Night Parade and be eternally bound to the tower, or to give up the Night Parade and be branded as a traitor and exiled… Onion and I were the latter.”

Oris shrugged, looking at the silent Lenok.

“Well, I’m in a better situation. At least I had a chance to choose. Most of the spirits have become parts of the tower without even having a chance.”

“I don’t know what that has to do with this situation.”

Lenok retorted coldly.

“Do you want to show off how miserable the end of the stragglers who failed the Ascension was?”

“Huh… You’re a sharp-tongued one.”

Was it because the words he threw out so casually were hitting Yorta’s weaknesses too painfully?

The Inquisitor, who had an unlikeable bitter smile, looked back at the ruins outside the ship and said.

“I understand, human. Anyone would be angry if they knew that the Soul Requiem Hall’s proposal was a trap to use you.”

“……”

“But you need to know how old this city is. Our challenge ended a long time ago, and now we’re just clinging to the remaining meaning and sinking into it…”

Oris, who turned his gaze away and hid his expression, said.

“Slowly, the long-rotting desires are all like that, aren’t they?”

“I don’t know what you’re trying to say, but you’re having a strange misunderstanding.”

Lenok said, adjusting his mask.

“I know nothing about Yorta’s rise and fall. I don’t care how the spirits of the Soul Requiem Hall fell.”

“……”

“I just want to be clear about why you helped me and how to get into the Interstice. That’s all.”

Lenok sneered, looking at the silent Inquisitor.

“Or does an exiled spirit need a more friendly explanation than this?”

At the point where his goal became clear, all he needed was information and the means to grasp the situation.

Lenok knew that he could clarify it through the Inquisitor standing in front of him and followed him.

Whether it was the Soul Requiem Hall or the Inquisitor, if they were moving not because they had a favor for Lenok but to use his abilities and existence, he would just choose the side that was more helpful.

“…No. You’re right.”

Oris also smiled bitterly as if he understood Lenok’s words.

“Now that we’ve escaped safely, the Soul Requiem Hall will also try to move in earnest. As promised, I’ll tell you another way to enter the Interstice.”

“The first priority is whether to enter the Interstice through the Memorial Tower.”

As soon as Lenok heard those words, he organized the necessary conditions and situations.

“I felt it while fighting the Myriad Ghosts, but the possibility of losing against the spirit warlocks inside the tower is too high.”

The Myriad Ghosts of the Memorial Tower freely manipulate the spirits that are subordinate to the tower.

It is a forbidden technique that uses the spirits and bodies that participated in the Night Parade of a Myriad Ghosts, which began a long time ago, as consumables for the ritual.

But that is why the efficiency and power of the spirit warlock techniques are greatly increased, and they can fight while replenishing the necessary spirits as much as they need.

Even Lenok had to consider using an elixir for a moment,

So, breaking through the boundaries of the Memorial Tower again from the front and entering the Interstice would be very difficult.

“From the perspective of the Soul Requiem Hall, which guards the tower, it would be enough to be wary of our approach and push us away. We need a means that does not conflict with our purpose.”

“Ah, you don’t have to worry about that part. Rather, you can completely exclude it.”

However, Oris nodded, unconcerned by Lenok’s words.

“In the first place, entering the Interstice through the Memorial Tower was an impossible method for you from the beginning.”

“…It’s impossible to enter the Interstice through the tower?”

“The Interstice is a space that conceptually compresses and embodies a boundary line that does not exist between the material realm and the spirit realm.”

Oris explained.

“The reason why the sanctuary designed to observe the flow of the curse can exist as a level of the tower is because it is the entrance to the material realm.”

“The entrance to the material realm…”

Is he saying that the space of the Interstice in the Memorial Tower is an entrance that exists in the material realm?

While Lenok paused for a moment, realizing the meaning, the Inquisitor asked.

“What do you think you need to do to cross the boundary line from the entrance of the material realm to the Interstice?”

Oris answered himself, looking at Lenok who was pondering.

“You have to die once. That is the only way to enter the Interstice through the entrance of the Memorial Tower.”

“……”

“That’s why a living person like you can never pass through the Interstice. Killing yourself to go to the sanctuary of the curse is like putting the cart before the horse.”

“I see…”

The reason why the Ghostly Records only described how to peek beyond the Interstice instead of how to enter it.

The reason why even the method of peeking into the Interstice was to curse oneself and observe the flow from beyond the Interstice.

Was it because it was impossible to enter the Interstice through the Memorial Tower with a living body in the first place?

While Lenok understood the fact and nodded, the Inquisitor asked again.

“Then, instead of killing yourself, the way to enter the Interstice is-”

“You can enter through the exit on the opposite side. Right?”

“……”

Lenok said, looking at the silent Oris.

“If it is a space that exists on the boundary line between the material realm and the spirit realm, there must also be an exit to the spirit realm that corresponds to the entrance to the material realm.”

“Huh…”

“Wouldn’t it be the opposite, where only the living can enter and exit the Interstice?”

[……]

The priestess, who had been listening to the conversation silently, also looked down at Lenok with a surprised expression.

Oris, who was staring at Lenok as if he was dumbfounded, clicked his tongue.

“You’re so smart that you’re creepy. Did you find the answer yourself with just those words?”

“……”

“That’s right. Two doors located on both the material realm and the spirit realm. The exit to the spirit realm that can be reached without going through the Memorial Tower.”

Oris said.

“I call this the Reverse Gate of the Interstice. It can be said to be the final destination we must reach from now on.”