Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 809

Clang!!

Lenok and the Ascendant collided, and Lenok was immediately thrown backward with even greater force.

Seeing Lenok plummeting below the throne, the Ascendant tightened his grip on the falling chain fragments.

Each time the Ascendant’s shoulder, perched on the throne, rotated slightly, the chain fragments at his fingertips vanished.

They then slammed down at incredible speed where Lenok had been standing.

Kugwagwagwa!!!

The impact shook the vast cathedral, but surprisingly, the void realm remained intact.

The Sanctuary of Curse, located on the boundary between the material and spiritual realms.

‘Is that why it can’t be easily damaged or destroyed by mere physical impact?’ Lenok wondered, gripping the magic threads and circling the throne where the Ascendant stood at an incredible speed.

He dodged all the chain fragments the Ascendant fired, quickly scanning the sanctuary.

“For someone who spoke so confidently, you don’t seem to have any particular skill.”

Kwoong!!

The Ascendant laughed, watching Lenok rapidly circle the throne, dodging the chain fragments.

The Ascendant, with his snow-white hair, swept it back with one hand.

His ink-black arms, etched with muscles, were clearly visible even from this distance.

“How long are you going to just stare at me?!”

Kkiiik!!

Lenok ignored the Ascendant’s words and reached down while hanging onto the magic threads.

Amidst the rain of chain fragments, he picked up a broken candlestick and examined it.

The Sanctuary of the Void. The curses here manifested as candlelight.

However, even if a candle went out, not all the observed curses immediately disappeared.

Some curses vanished with the candle, while others became new candles, continuing to be observed in this sanctuary.

‘Is the essence to perceive existence through observation and project its flow onto this sanctuary?’

Through the power of the void, one could discern the target of a curse and its purpose.

However, extinguishing the candles of curses observed here did not immediately eliminate the curses in reality.

Then why did the ghost dragon Yao Xun ask Lenok to erase the curse that symbolized his existence in the void?

Lenok believed it was because the ghost dragon’s existence was based on a unique principle that required observation.

If there were curses that did not disappear simply by being observed here, then he would have to use the void to eliminate their existence.

And Lenok intuitively knew that this aligned with the meaning of the Incarnation Technique.

Thud thud!!

Hooking the magic threads on the edge of the throne, he instantly closed the distance with the Ascendant.

As if anticipating it, the Ascendant gripped the chain fragments and swung them, creating a vortex of wind around his head.

Kwaaaaah!!!

A tremendous wind pressure poured down, threatening to crush Lenok under the Ascendant’s feet.

However, Lenok used Blink to leap over the attack, approaching within striking distance of the Ascendant.

Manipulation-type Unique Magic

[Thread-Tethered Imprisonment]

The hand reaching out from under the shadow robe was bound by the magic threads and shook wildly.

Following the vibrations, he dodged the Ascendant’s thoughts and instantly reached his front.

He manipulated hundreds of magic threads simultaneously, plunging them directly into the Ascendant’s chest, who did not even resist.

[Myriad Vine Connection]

Jjeoeoeong!!

A milky white light flashed over the Ascendant’s skin, repelling all of Lenok’s techniques.

Unlike his previous stance of evading attacks, the Ascendant’s expression changed slightly at Lenok’s sharp momentum, which had penetrated his defenses.

“Oh, that movement just now…”

“A barrier that blocks physical interference. Or a kind of very powerful protection comparable to it.”

He shook his head, gathering and retrieving all the scattered magic threads.

Lenok asked, looking at the Ascendant’s black pupils, which seemed surprised as they stared at him.

“It’s not the power of this world in the first place. Is the blessing received as the vessel of the cult leader still remaining in that body?”

The milky white light thoroughly protected the Ascendant’s body, regardless of his will.

A mysterious blessing or protection, originally intended to protect the cult leader.

The Ascendant had not yet exerted his full power to fully control that power.

“The cult leader’s protection. If a blessing that is not your power is now belatedly activating…”

Lenok said, looking at the Ascendant’s snow-white hair.

“It must be because of my Incarnation that has taken root in that body.”

“…”

What was moving the Ascendant’s body now was an existence that was infinitely close to the Ascendant himself.

However, Lenok was certain that the key to that was his Incarnation.

The power of an old-world martial artist, and perhaps even an Incarnation that originated from the cult leader.

It would have been the perfect trigger to stimulate the Ascendant, who had witnessed the cult leader’s illusion his entire life.

Lenok realized this immediately after seeing the Ascendant’s memories, and he also understood why the Ascendant was trying to kill him.

If he was aware of the existence of the Incarnation, the Ascendant would also be aware of the connection between Lenok and the cult leader.

If the Ascendant wanted to erase the traces of the cult leader, then Lenok would be the first enemy he would have to kill.

“Yes. It’s still dormant within my body. This protection is a power that has awakened because of it.”

The Ascendant nodded.

“I was planning to kill you after completely absorbing your Incarnation… but it’s not going as well as I thought. It must be because your Incarnation is a power that originated from the cult leader.”

The reason why the Ascendant could not absorb Lenok’s Incarnation was, strictly speaking, because it was a power that originated from Lenok himself.

However, the Ascendant believed that he could not easily erase that existence from his body because the Incarnation was related to the cult leader.

“You asked me who I was. Conversely, who are you?”

The Ascendant asked, staring at Lenok with a chilling gaze.

“Are you an existence that represents the cult leader in this world? Or are you another vessel arranged for the cult leader, like me?”

[…]

Even the priestess, who was desperately concentrating on praying in the back, was glancing in their direction.

She must also be aware of the relationship between him and the cult leader, seeing Lenok and the power of the Incarnation.

However, even knowing that, Lenok calmly shook his head at the Ascendant.

“I don’t think that’s a question I have to answer. Because I’ve never thought of it that way.”

Bwooong!!

He grabbed the chain fragments scattering from all directions with the magic threads, drawing a long circle as he rotated.

He changed the direction of the fragments accelerated by centrifugal force and slammed them down on the Ascendant’s head.

Kwaaang!!

Lenok said, looking at the Ascendant’s body, which had received the chain fragments without even attempting to dodge.

Lenok’s voice momentarily became blurry.

“The power and faith he left behind. The means and methods. The reason for crossing the world… you don’t know any of it properly.”

“…”

“Rather, isn’t your existence much closer to him than mine?”

Kwoong!!

The fragments of the misty chains shattered and split above his head.

Even the sharp fragments that were honed and slashing in all directions disappeared, blocked by the milky white protection that enveloped the Ascendant’s body.

The Ascendant silently watched the scene and muttered.

“The cult leader descended into the mortal world through my body, and in that place, he forcibly raised my rank, making me an Ascendant.”

A shocking confession that was hard to believe.

Just by borrowing the body of another human being and manifesting, could one raise their rank to a level comparable to ascension?

How could such an absurd thing be possible, with knowledge and power so different that they had crossed the world?

Just as Lenok paused, thinking about the work needed for that transcendent feat, the Ascendant spoke.

“But after the cult leader left, my body could not accept the aftermath. My spirit, which had exceeded its limits, collapsed as it was…”

The Ascendant, who had stopped speaking, muttered in a calm voice.

“And in that madness, I wandered the continent, killing everything I saw.”

“…”

“I tried to see the next step even by sacrificing myself… but the cult leader never intended to grant what I desired from the beginning.”

The Ascendant himself had accepted the deal with the cult leader and obtained the qualification to challenge ascension.

But even the wish he had sought by throwing himself away had become a memory distorted by regret.

Only after hearing those words did Lenok understand why the Ascendant felt different from other Ascendants.

The Ascendant was not a transcendent being who had challenged ascension through his own will and reached the 9th level.

He was an Ascendant who was created more perfectly and artificially than anything else through the cult leader’s existence and will.

Therefore, his spirit did not exist as a complete Ascendant, and his emotions were also far removed from those who had obtained the qualifications.

“For over hundreds of years, I wandered between life and death, driven mad, and I thought.”

His entire body, dyed pitch black, flashed as he began to walk towards Lenok.

“In the end, the answer the cult leader presented to me was this.”

“…”

“If his wish is to dye everything in this world with madness, to head towards destruction by combining slaughter and self-torture…”

The Ascendant, who had stopped right in front of Lenok, whispered, scattering a sharp glint in his eyes.

“I must cut off all that causality myself.”

If the Ascendant had lived as a vessel of the cult leader, he would have known where Lenok’s Incarnation came from.

If he wanted to erase all traces of the cult leader, it was obvious that he would not leave Lenok alive.

He had crossed an irreversible river from the moment he entered the void with the priestess’s spirit and looked into his memories using the power of revelation.

However, even knowing that fact, Lenok silently took out a new ampoule from his pocket and inserted it into his forearm.

Chik!!

“I don’t think the cult’s way is right. I can understand why you want that.”

Gazing at the lustrous color of the elixir being directly injected into his veins, Lenok asked,

“But, how is what you desire different from the cult leader’s?”

“……”

“If you sever all the causality related to him in a different direction from the cult leader, aren’t you also ultimately wishing for destruction?”

Lenok gave a cold smile towards the silent Ascendant.

“In the end, we can only answer according to what we have seen and heard. No matter how noble a value we seek, we cannot create a meaning we do not know.”

That is why Lenok is uncovering the secrets of this world and looking into the failures left behind.

To know even a little more before giving a definite answer. To see and hear a little more, so as not to repeat the past.

“Regardless of whether the cult’s answer is wrong, it is not the place of the dead to decide that.”

Lenok slowly lowered his stance, gathering his magic power, and tilted his head.

“Especially not a berserker who has been subjugated by the cult leader and has forgotten who he is.”

“…I see.”

Kugugugugugu!!!!

No further answer came.

The only thing Lenok felt at that moment was all emotion being completely wiped away from the Ascendant’s face.

Watching this, Lenok slowly began to awaken the senses throughout his body.

Kiiing…!!

A level 9 Ascendant. Moreover, a being born with the complete memories of that body.

The potential of a completed Ascendant’s body is immeasurably powerful, yet Lenok still saw a chance of victory in this place.

He had ascended to the Ascendant’s rank as a berserker, but the Ascendant standing before him was not insane.

It would be impossible to call his current state, where he could have a normal conversation with Lenok, insane.

If the Ascendant’s rank is only fully manifested when one is insane as a berserker, then Lenok has a chance.

The moment the scattering chains of mist all subsided, and silence returned to the Sanctuary of the Void.

Kwaaang!!

Lenok and the Ascendant disappeared from their spots almost simultaneously and collided.

Unlike the empty feints that had been aimlessly missing each other, this was a strike from the start, thoroughly aimed at each other’s lives.

Drrrrk!!!!

A manipulator of magic threads and a martial artist clenching his fist exchanged hundreds of blows in an instant.

Whitish magic threads crisscrossed up and down, blocking both arms, bunching up and scattering.

Kagagagak!!

Following the trajectory of his will, fist light wrapped around and pierced through all the violently scattering magic fragments.

A one-sided situation where the magic threads could not withstand the fist strike and were all trampled and torn apart.

However, Lenok did not cling to the severed magic threads and quickly began to draw new ones to receive the fist strikes.

He could endure more by injecting magic and increasing the tension, but that would greatly reduce efficiency.

It was most important to not be stingy with the magic consumed and to parry the immediate attacks.

Charrrrk!!

Gathering the broken bundles of magic threads and reattaching them, he changed the direction of the impact from the Ascendant’s strikes.

He attached the severed ends of the magic threads to his entire body and induced the dispersion of power.

Burning magic in front while reattaching fragments of the spell in the back, a divine feat to check the Ascendant’s movements.

He continued the battle, simultaneously performing the attacks from the front and the checks from the rear.

Pa-ba-bak!!

From Lenok’s fingertips, dozens of bundles of magic threads split into hundreds in the blink of an eye, creating an illusion as if they were wrapping around everywhere.

In the empty air, magic threads bound together, supporting each other and increasing tension.

The Ascendant’s fist strikes, dazzlingly extending in all directions.

As if guiding his will, which was not bound and roamed freely, he extended his fingertips and caught it in the air.

The moment Lenok’s fingertips, which had been aimlessly wandering, touched the end of the Ascendant’s fist as if by a lie.

Kigigigik!!

The fragments of magic threads that had been scattering around wrapped around in unison, roughly striking the Ascendant’s body from all directions.

Proof that he had perfectly executed a battle against a physical combatant with a special manipulation technique known to be difficult.

It was only for a brief moment, but Lenok had definitely gained the upper hand in the exchange with the Ascendant-

Kwaaaang!!!

A dark wave exploded, crushing Lenok’s figure like an insect on the spot.

Even though he had reacted in an instant, deploying a shield and teleporting his body backward, the slash followed.

“Cough…!!”

Even though he had completely erased the pain, he felt a pressure in his chest, forcing him to exhale.

“Space manipulator. You keep playing clumsy tricks.”

Thump!!

As if the fierce exchange had been meaningless, the Ascendant, who had instantly crushed Lenok, grabbed his robe.

The milky white blessing that flashed from his entire body had deflected most of Lenok’s attacks on the spot.

The Ascendant, holding Lenok’s figure in one hand, twisted his lips.

“You, who are not even a martial artist, dare to compare the depth of martial arts in front of me?”

“…!!”

The Ascendant glared at Lenok’s swaying figure with a calm gaze.

“The intuition that allowed you to succeed in a battle of wits against me is admirable, but it’s all for naught when you wield martial arts with such a pathetic body.”

Thud!!

As he pulled up his magic power while still gripping the robe, dark magic swirled violently between the Ascendant’s fingers.

“When vessels of different sizes collide, one will roll and break more greatly.”

As if ink was drawing a line in the air, it wrapped around Lenok’s figure and began to squeeze it on the spot.

Crack!! Crrrk!!

A hand movement that seemed to completely eliminate any chance by not letting go of Lenok’s presence on the spot.

The martial arts of the Ninefold Return, known as the martial arts of the berserker Ascendant.

Eight martial arts and one martial art.

But the foundation is in the single boxing that is wielded using both fists.

The Ascendant’s body reached out into the air, and just by gently grasping it, the surrounding space distorted and responded.

Even Lenok’s existence was twisted and emitted a series of indescribable, terrible noises according to the flow of that gesture and will.

Snap!!

The moment the Ascendant raised his foot to crush Lenok’s head with a cold gaze.

Lenok barely moved his lips.

“Is comparing yourself to a vessel… because you haven’t completely erased the cult leader’s traces?”

“…”

“It’s ironic. You haven’t completely escaped, yet you’re going to erase those traces from this world.”

Lenok’s eyes, looking at the Ascendant beyond the cracked obsidian mask, curved into a circle.

“That’s not regret, it’s an obsession close to delusion.”

Kwaaaang!!

The moment the Ascendant lightly stomped his foot, a huge dark pillar soared and exploded above the Sanctuary of the Void.

Magic and will overflowed, to the point that they exploded just by lightly touching them.

Even though it was a body that had just awakened from sleep, the will that responded to that output was on a different level.

Kugwagwa!!!

He covered the candles of the sanctuary with an even more intense will and burned them, and a storm of faded colors swirled.

But from beyond the berserker’s magic that was supposed to erase everything,

“It wasn’t to compete with you in martial arts that didn’t suit me.”

Lenok’s voice echoed again.

“It was just to see if I could use a battle of wits even against an Ascendant.”

“…!!”

“The reason I didn’t use spells and deliberately engaged in hand-to-hand combat with you, exhausting myself like this-”

The Ascendant immediately withdrew his magic and looked for Lenok, but Lenok’s figure was already far away from that spot.

Barely covering himself with a robe dripping with blood, he was sitting on the floor.

Beyond the obsidian mask that was hanging precariously as if it would fall off at any moment, Lenok spoke quietly.

“I thought it would be difficult to deal with a being wearing the cult leader’s blessing with ordinary spells.”

“…”

He struggled to lift his head, his whole body writhing in pain.

The figure of the priestess, who had not intervened in any way until now and had been purely focused on gathering her powers.

The power she had created by gathering all her remaining strength was now beginning to appear as a powerful flame of revelation that could be seen with the naked eye.

Lenok nodded towards the priestess, who had completed the power of revelation and was ready.

“Seina Naidri. Use the power of revelation towards the outer sea.”

[…Your Grace.]

Only then did the priestess’s eyelids tremble with difficulty, realizing Lenok’s intention.

Instead of answering the priestess, Lenok turned his gaze towards the Ascendant, who was slowly walking from afar.

A figure dyed black as if his whole body was soaked in black ink.

But even on that skin where not a single ray of light sank, his solid physique and clear muscular body were clearly visible.

The Ascendant’s body, which had not faded in the slightest even after hundreds of years and a long death.

A transcendent being who even wore the blessing that originally belonged to the cult leader, rejecting any physical interference.

But the reason why Lenok did not use his own body magic, which he was using as a demigod in this place, was not for any other reason.

“Memories trapped in a dead body. An Ascendant who has awakened beyond the boundary of life and death. To kill what cannot die…”

Lenok whispered, looking at him.