Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 808

Kugugugu!!

The endless scenery of the cathedral shakes and crumbles incessantly.

Space splits and falls away, fragments unable to even take shape before vanishing into the mist.

A massive presence presses down on the surrounding space, an illusion of everything slowly being crushed by its sheer weight.

He knew that all this destruction was happening because of a single being.

Skin as black as if stained with ink. Pure white hair that had been bleached.

Perched precariously on the edge of the massive throne, chin resting on his hand, he looked down at Lenok with a tilted gaze.

Even with thick chains wrapped around his limbs, his form was crystal clear to Lenok.

The Ascendant’s arrival.

A transcendent being who, in the body of a berserker, reached the 9th level and earned the right to challenge ascension.

The fact that the realm of the void could not withstand the mere movement of his body, finally awakened from its long slumber.

“I was worried you wouldn’t wake up. Usually, once you lose consciousness here, it’s not easy to open your eyes again.”

The being occupying the Ascendant’s body spoke with a smile, completely unconcerned with Lenok’s thoughts.

“Looking back, it took quite a while, didn’t it?”

He hummed a cheerful tune, not waiting for Lenok’s reply, as he asked.

“A long, painful, and useless life to reflect on. Even its meaning was so broken that it couldn’t be recognized at the end.”

“……”

“No matter how I think about it, it’s not something worth showing to others. I’ve shown you an embarrassing sight.”

He idly opened and closed one hand, nodding languidly.

His movements were so full of life that it was hard to believe he had been a lifeless corpse just moments ago.

But Lenok knew that the being before him was forcing the Ascendant’s body to move, creating a false sense of vitality.

“Who are you?”

Lenok asked, pressing his throbbing temples.

“Is the one moving that body someone I know?”

Who was the being speaking to Lenok from that spot?

Lenok’s avatar that had resided in the body of the Ascendant. The military lord who had plotted to steal the body.

The cult leader who had recognized Lenok in his memories. Or perhaps it was the Ascendant himself.

There were so many connections to that body that it was difficult to guess his identity just by looking at him.

But instead of answering Lenok’s question, he crossed his arms and leaned his head back on the throne.

“Well, I don’t know either. Who am I?”

“……”

“Why am I here, why did I wake up now… Thinking about such things doesn’t suit me.”

He tilted his head back, banging it against the throne pillar, and asked.

“Answer me, sorcerer. Body or mind. Which do you think comes first?”

“…I don’t know why you’re asking me that.”

Lenok adjusted his mask slowly, sneering.

“Do you want me to confirm who you are?”

The question of which takes precedence, the spirit or the flesh, in human life.

It goes without saying how long and storied the history of that debate is in this world full of mysteries.

To ask Lenok about it now and seek his opinion was meaningless.

But he seemed to think differently from Lenok.

“I believe that the physical, the material, comes before all else. Our bodies take precedence over our minds.”

“……”

“The memories you saw are the same. No matter how dangerous the secrets we witness, we can return to reality because we have a body.”

He said with a blank face.

“If not, this world would have long been claimed by the savior residing in the palace of memories.”

It was a vague statement, but Lenok immediately understood what he meant.

The savior residing in the palace of memories.

A transcendent being who maintains his existence through the faith and memories of others.

Both of them knew that they had been constantly searching for the cult leader’s presence in their memories.

The memories of the Ascendant that he had seen through the power of revelation. But it was not the cult leader’s past that Lenok was looking for.

The memories of someone who was born as a human on this continent and rose through the ranks as a martial artist.

The memories of the Ascendant who had faced the cult leader at the final moment, fulfilling an irresistible destiny.

“The cult leader…”

The records of the cult leader that he had seen beyond the memories were just the illusions of the martial artist that the Ascendant had faced throughout his life.

But Lenok couldn’t hide his troubled heart just by thinking of the martial artist’s figure.

He could understand, even if only a little, what kind of feelings he had as he trained and honed his talents after first falling into this world.

What kind of despair and hopelessness he had carried as he stood in that place.

“……”

Clearly, his beginning was not a smooth or comfortable start.

Just like Lenok, he might have been focused on surviving day by day in even more dire circumstances.

How did he think of his martial arts talent when he first opened his eyes in the first world?

What was the cult leader thinking when he reached the third world through two ascensions and took hold of the Ascendant’s vessel?

As Lenok pondered this and stared into the darkness of the cathedral, a spirit of a priestess shot out from the edge of the throne and barely stopped beside Lenok.

She must have realized the abnormality later than Lenok and forcibly stopped the power of revelation.

[…Your Grace. I’m sorry. It seems I couldn’t stop it after all.]

The Ascendant’s gaze, still relaxed despite being bound by chains, was fixed on them.

The priestess’s spirit, having grasped the situation, spoke to Lenok with a bewildered expression.

[If the vessel has been taken, he will surely seek revenge on the cult. Please, escape.]

“……”

[There is a bridge of souls left outside the void. If you escape through the reverse gate, it won’t be difficult to leave Yorta-]

“No, it’s not that the vessel was taken. It’s more accurate to say it was reclaimed.”

[…Excuse me?]

The reason he used revelation to peek into the memories was to stop the spirit of the military lord from taking the Ascendant’s body.

But in the memories of the Ascendant that Lenok had witnessed, there was no sign of a being that seemed to be the military lord’s spirit.

Was it because he had already completely taken over the Ascendant’s body?

Did he completely synchronize with the vessel’s memories and take control of the body in that short time?

Lenok had a gut feeling that it wasn’t the case.

The ambiguous message he had given Lenok from the moment he opened his eyes.

His powerful will, not doubting his own strength even while unsure of his own existence.

The common perspective shared by monsters who transcend reason, who enforce their own judgment and will throughout the world.

“That’s not the spirit of the military lord, nor is it a corrupted avatar. Rather…”

Lenok said, looking at the Ascendant’s expressionless face.

“It would be more accurate to say that he is closer to the Ascendant himself, the owner of the body before it became the cult leader’s vessel.”

What was moving the Ascendant’s body now was neither the military lord’s spirit, which had been venting its anger, nor Lenok’s avatar that had resided in the body.

Not the military lord who had vowed to reclaim the night stolen by the cult leader, but the true owner of this body.

The person who had shown Lenok his memories and reflected on their meaning.

The Ascendant, Do-rae himself, had awakened and reclaimed his body.

Instead of answering Lenok’s words, Do-rae whispered quietly.

“The reason I was waiting for you even after opening my eyes… is because I wanted to tell you what I realized.”

“…Wanted to tell me?”

“Yes.”

He nodded.

“At the end of eternally repeating memories, the moment the cult leader recognized and looked at you… I understood as well.”

His eyes, which had been looking at Lenok while leaning against the edge of the throne, gradually began to focus.

“That I am the owner of these memories.”

“……”

“That this body was, long ago, definitely my own.”

A quiet message. But the will contained in those words held an undeniable power.

Chwaak!!

Instinctively, he pulled up his magic power, adding a shield to his entire body, and quickly drew magic threads, placing them all around.

But Do-rae’s corpse, unconcerned with the veil of magic threads that had fallen all around, spoke again.

“The beginning was from a very trivial coincidence.”

The moment he lightly extended his finger, the chains of mist that wrapped around his body surged greatly.

Kung!!

The chains trembled and shook, as if unable to withstand the power contained within, with just a simple gesture.

Lenok slowly turned his gaze, watching the cracks that were being etched onto the chains that bound Do-rae’s corpse.

“I have regretted that choice for a very long time.”

The Ascendant’s lips moved faintly.

“As time passed, I looked back on that moment countless times.”

“……”

“This body I gave to him, the madness of my mind as the price for challenging ascension, even my existence left here as a contingency…”

With his eyes closed, the Ascendant’s corpse continued to murmur.

“Everything went awry, and even the inevitable choice of things breaking down in unwanted ways.”

Kugugugung!

The Ascendant’s listless fingers slowly loosened and began to move.

As if waking from a long sleep and regaining sensation, they pulsed and moved little by little from the fingertips.

Very slowly, Do-rae’s hand, which had been tilting, clenched into a fist.

Paah-ah-ah-ahng!!!

The seal that had been binding Do-rae’s left arm shattered on the spot, scattering in all directions of the cathedral.

Ku-gwa-gwa!!!

The remnants of the shattered chains, released from the seal, swept through the candlesticks all around the cathedral, extinguishing their flames.

Within the Interstice [a space between dimensions], dozens, hundreds of curses that were being observed were sent tumbling, crushed, and extinguished with a single gesture.

Even Lenok, startled by the impact, momentarily raised his arm to shield his face.

Do-rae then shattered all the other seals on the spot and rose from his position.

Kwajik, Kwajijijik!!!

Puh-uh-uh-ung!!

The mere act of the dead Ascendant’s body regaining its balance and standing caused the surrounding space to twist and compress.

The shockwave that slowly emanated extinguished the candles in all directions, causing them to lose their light.

The spirit of the priestess, who had still been clinging to Do-rae’s corpse, was also thrown out.

[……!!]

The priestess’s soul, unable to even scream, fell and rolled around in agony.

Even though she had lost her physical body and only her spirit remained, the will that Do-rae was emitting was so powerful that it affected her as well.

Ku-gwa-gwa-gwa-gwa!!!!

In the center of the massive cathedral, where hundreds of thousands of candles were emitting light,

The ancient Ascendant, his entire body covered in black magic power, began to move again.

With his arms wide open, a massive storm swirled, responding fiercely to its belatedly awakened master.

The berserker’s killing intent pricked at Lenok’s skin, rushing to take his life roughly.

Tadadadak!!

“You’ve become aware of your own existence beyond the memories and regained your body.”

Lenok slowly brushed away the magic power pouring down on him from Do-rae and instead asked him.

“But do you truly believe you can call that yourself?”

“……”

“Are you, standing here now, Do-rae himself, who offered his body to the cult leader?”

Now, he understood why Do-rae had said that the body took precedence over the mind.

The memories of his life left in the body. An existence that became aware of itself and rose from those memories.

Was that Do-rae himself, or was it a remnant of will left in the Ascendant’s remains?

Even Do-rae, who had opened his eyes in this place, was not sure of it.

Lenok’s avatar, sleeping beneath that body, and the lord’s spirit, which had disappeared to an unknown place.

“…I told you. It’s not me who knows that, but the cult leader who manifested in this body.”

Do-rae’s corpse, after slowly bending and stretching his hand to check his senses, murmured with a blank face.

“Then, I must now reclaim everything I gave to the cult leader.”

“……”

“Because that is the only answer I can give to a failed savior.”

[Your Grace.]

The priestess, sensing the eerie atmosphere, cried out urgently.

[I will buy you time. Even though it is in the presence of the Ascendant, if I use my power-]

Woong!!

At that moment, Lenok retrieved the priestess’s spirit and moved immediately.

He did not hesitate to use five overlapping layers of the Blink spell [a teleportation spell] charged in the Papyrus Argentus [a magical artifact].

He instantly traversed dozens of meters, hiding himself among the countless candles.

Ninefold Do-rae Martial Arts, Eight Forms

Fist and Kick Wave Energy, Sixth Form

Calamity Arrival

Hoo-oong!!

A tingling, dark-colored wave erupted, sweeping away the spot where Lenok had been standing.

Kwa-ah-ah-ahng!!!!

Fragments of shattered candlesticks scattered in all directions, and the very realm of the Interstice was pulverized and scattered.

A high-level technique that twisted and crushed the entire space, wielded with will as its power source.

The priestess’s soul, which had belatedly reappeared from the ring, was speechless at the sight.

[This is…]

“Buying time? Do you think that’s even possible?”

Lenok said, looking at Do-rae’s corpse, which was standing blankly on the other side of the Interstice.

“That thing only intends to erase all of us from this place. If we were going to run, we should have moved a long time ago.”

[……]

A killing intent that openly shattered the space of the Interstice, trying to kill Lenok.

If he tried to escape carelessly, he would be caught immediately, and his body and soul would be torn to shreds.

Therefore, instead of retreating the priestess’s spirit, Lenok pulled out magic threads with both hands.

Chwa-ak!!

He stretched out hundreds of magic threads from his arms, legs, shoulders, and waist, and haphazardly connected their ends to all sides of the Interstice’s sanctuary.

Lenok, who had instantly bound his body with magic threads and pulled them taut, clasped his hands together and said.

“Don’t say useless things, and get ready.”

[Ready… you mean?]

“The power of Revelation. You can use it one more time, right?”

[……]

The Revelation, where she had looked into Do-rae’s memories, risking her own annihilation.

However, as that ritual was interrupted midway, her remaining power was barely hanging on.

It would be difficult to summon a more powerful miracle now, but it would be possible to use the Revelation one more time, as Lenok was saying.

Lenok, reading the answer from the priestess’s reaction, nodded.

“I have a way. One Revelation will be enough.”

Click!

He filled an ampule with liquid and stabbed it directly into his abdomen.

He felt a tingling pain, and his senses, dulled by the continuous battles, sharpened.

He injected a mixture of stimulants and painkillers, and then applied an anesthetic patch over the blood vessels to forcibly numb his senses.

Chwa-ak!!

Lenok, grabbing the magic threads with both hands, began to walk, attaching them to the walls and ceiling of the cathedral.

“I’ll buy you the time to prepare your power.”

The edge of the Interstice’s sanctuary.

The most lethal secret hidden by the military city of Yorta.

But from the moment Lenok glimpsed Do-rae’s corpse beyond the Interstice, he thought that this might happen someday.

The body of an Ascendant who had reached level 9, and the owner of the memories who had awakened again in that body.

Whether that was the real Do-rae himself, or an existence that was mistaken for Do-rae.

Either way, he would never be able to settle things without confronting them directly in this place.

Kugugugung!!

Amidst the rain of collapsing chain fragments, the Ascendant and the mage simultaneously faced each other.

The figure of a muscular warrior, his entire body dyed black, and a sorcerer, surging with silver threads.

At the clash of powerful and sharp wills that divided the Interstice’s sanctuary, Do-rae grinned.

“Impressive spirit. Are you going to challenge me with a mortal body?”

“I’m not one to pick and choose my opponents based on such things.”

Lenok replied, gripping the magic threads tightly.

The situations they faced were always different, but the things they had to do did not change.

Parallel lines that would never intersect at the end of their dialogue.

In the end, unless he changed things with his own hands, he would not be able to face anything properly.

He was here to see what could not be seen and to hear what could not be heard.

Before the means and the purpose were reversed, and he forgot their essence, he would finish everything.

Wasn’t he digging up and pondering their failures so that he wouldn’t meet the same end as those who had found the answer in this world first?

“Let’s begin, Ascendant.”

Lenok said, slowly tilting his head back.

“It seems like I won’t have enough time to find the cult leader if I have to go over your corpse.”