Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 817

Binding (5)

When I was building my reputation under the name of ‘Fortress,’ I had a thought.

Those opponents who, despite knowing the difference in power, resisted with all their might and burned with fighting spirit.

Those enemies who tried to find a gap and exploit weaknesses even in a hopeless situation where no method seemed to exist.

Why did they resist so desperately, burning with such zeal for life?

And yet, why did they constantly approach Lenok like moths to a flame, only to be consumed?

Lenok also had a time when he had to risk his life to envision tomorrow, so he thought he understood their feelings, but he was mistaken.

Only after scraping every last bit of his strength and standing before Kroken did Lenok finally realize what they were feeling.

They don’t fight because they think they can win, nor do they move because they believe they can survive.

It’s simply because this time, when they open their eyes, breathe, think, and worry, is so precious.

Because they don’t have the luxury to move while envisioning the future.

Standing before that monster, more terrifying and ferocious than anyone else, he feels the instinct for life that he had momentarily forgotten.

He wants to live.

Realizing that the desire he first held in this world has not faded within him, Lenok steeled himself and whipped his broken body.

Kugugugu!!

The form of the pure white sanctuary shining beneath his feet.

The holy magic power emanating from Kashuin occupies the space and restores Lenok’s body in real-time.

Kroken stands with his arms crossed in the middle of the slowly collapsing memorial tower, looking at Lenok as if he finds it amusing.

His new form, draped in the remnants of the military spirits he had torn apart and the mist of the spiritual bodies, slowly wags its tail.

Even from tens of meters away, his bright yellow pupils shine eerily.

The moment Lenok’s magic eye rotated, visualizing the red and blue areas of possibility and revealing Kroken’s gaps.

“…Haha.”

He smiled bitterly as he confirmed that all the space around Kroken was dying, sinking into a blackness that was beyond red.

Trying to gauge the gaps and calculate the distance against that monster is meaningless.

The moment one enters that pitch-black area, the only thing that exists is the future of defeat, directly linked to death.

From now on, he must forcibly break through that gap and achieve meaningful results from Kroken.

“Kashuin. Prepare yourself.”

Lenok said, taking out a large silver papyrus from his chest.

“You must take the vanguard. Move the sanctuary forward to expand the battlefield.”

[……]

Recalling the memories of when he fought Kroken, he quickly organizes the plan.

During the mobile fortress, he aimed to hit high-powered spells by placing Felix at the vanguard.

He vowed not to repeat the same mistake, but with the situation as it is, the course of action was clear.

“The opponent is a monster who has reached the pinnacle of melee combat. Instead of facing him head-on, we need to focus on enduring as much as possible-”

[Do not command me, magician.]

The Archangel, turning his gaze with a flustered expression, glared at Lenok.

At the same time, the magic power that erupted from Kashuin’s body strongly enveloped Lenok.

Tudduk!!

[You promised to summon me only for His work. I, too, trusted him and relied on you.]

“……”

[Is this how you betray my trust, which I have patiently endured day after day in a cramped artifact?]

A tone of voice so enraged that it was hard to believe he was standing there wrapped in holy magic and radiance.

However, it wasn’t that he couldn’t understand the Archangel’s reaction at all.

Even though he had faced the arrival several times in the Sanctuary of Nothingness, he had awakened the Archangel not for the work of the Pontiff but to deal with the military spirits of the Zhenhun Order.

For Kashuin, who had declared a sanctuary and raised his power to the maximum, it was no exaggeration to say that he felt betrayed beyond a sense of futility.

However, Lenok, even while looking at Kashuin glaring at him, calmly retorted without being flustered.

“That’s a ridiculous thing to say. Do you think I’m lying?”

[Then what is it?]

Lenok rubbed the stigma engraved on his right wrist.

“The reason you were summoned with that much power right now. It seems you still don’t understand.”

[……]

The authority of the high priest that the priestess Seina Nydri had transferred.

Although it was not as good as when the priestess handled it herself, it was a favor she had given while risking her soul.

Lenok had used this very stigma to fully awaken Kashuin’s existence and summon him to this place,

and he knew that it was precisely because of this that he could act confidently towards Kashuin.

“This very moment is proof that I kept my promise. If I wasn’t pursuing the Pontiff’s traces, would I have been able to obtain this authority and awaken you?”

[……That’s.]

Lenok glared at Kashuin with cold eyes.

“If you resist like this one more time, I will consider the promise null and void. Do you understand?”

Subjugating Kashuin with the Archangel’s compassion was not a relationship based on an equal contract.

Lenok had already fought the Archangel, crushing his spirit and body without leaving anything behind. He was merely taking his existence and using it.

It was okay to grant Kashuin’s wishes in the process, but he should never forget his place.

Pressing down on Kashuin with a just cause, as he was doing now, was also a way to maximize his abilities.

“If you understand, move the sanctuary immediately. What we have to do from now on is a gamble that we can’t even attempt without risking our lives.”

[……Very well.]

Kashuin slowly turned his back, looking as if he had finally understood.

Looking at Kroken standing far away, Kashuin spread his hands and said.

[It was clearly the mark of His will that called me. You are right. I will cooperate this time.]

Charrrruk!!

At that moment, a spear and a sword appeared in Kashuin’s hands simultaneously.

The pure white wings fell off as if they were twisted, transforming into the shape of real blades.

Kashuin, with his wide wings spread open, stepped forward, gripping the spear and sword in both hands.

The lanky Archangel, easily exceeding 2 meters, and the equally massive Kroken faced each other in the center of the tower.

Kroken laughed at Kashuin’s elongated figure, whose human proportions were excessively distorted.

“You’ve taken in a disobedient dog while I wasn’t looking. It’s quite a sight to see him turn on his master.”

[Dog? Did you call me a dog?]

“Or do you think you’re not?”

Kroken’s mouth twisted cruelly.

“Just barking and whimpering without knowing your place… It must mean that your situation isn’t so good if you have to use something like that as a weapon.”

Ududuk!!

Kroken slowly clenched his fist and said.

“Watch closely. I’ll show you how useless a tool that doesn’t listen is.”

“I have a different opinion on that matter.”

Lenok muttered as he slowly unfolded the papyrus he was holding.

“It’s a sorcerer’s duty to use anything available to change the situation.”

Chwararak!!

The magic circle engraved on the papyrus, large enough to cover his entire body, glowed dazzlingly.

The magic circle mixed with the power of the sanctuary and began to be absorbed into Lenok’s body.

Lenok felt a strange sense of floating, as if he was pouring magic power into his entire body, and he straightened up.

The Papyrus Argenteus he had acquired in the Cradle of the Dull. A mystical artifact that could store and stockpile spells or magic power.

Normally, he used it to instantly cast pre-stored blink spells one by one.

However, the true value of the Papyrus Argenteus lies in its explosive power to instantly convert stored magic power into real power.

It was one of the most effective cards Lenok possessed, and a legacy of the Ascended that he had saved without using even during the Zhenhun Order’s pursuit.

Kugugugu!!!

He used the power of the sanctuary to raise his bloodied body, filling it with the magic power of the papyrus.

He filled his depleted body with fuel, turned the worn-out engine, and increased its revolutions.

“Huuu…”

A miracle as if breathing a second breath into Lenok’s already exhausted body.

Beyond the torrent of magic power falling endlessly like a waterfall, he saw Kroken smiling eerily.

As if he would never wear out so easily, as if he had already finished preparing to fight and thought he could run again.

Even with the bizarrely glaring Archangel in front of him, he was waiting.

With Kroken’s flashing gaze in front of him, Lenok covered his obsidian mask with one hand.

Saaak…!!

The moment he gently stroked the mask and concealed his magic power, Lenok’s form vanished without a trace.

[Hyah!!]

At the same time, Kashuin, standing in front of Kroken, raised his holy magic power and rapidly elevated himself.

Kugugugu!!!

The pure white sanctuary rotated as if boiling, rising like a hemispherical dome between the two monsters.

[In the paradise ruled by my God, outstanding warriors trained themselves for Him.]

The blood vessels in Kashuin’s arms, which were raised with the spear and sword crossed, swelled explosively, instantly drawing power.

[I will see if your dull body is qualified to enter that hall!!]

The moment Kashuin’s spear struck down on Kroken’s shoulder, a pillar of pure white light exploded and burst out above his head.

Kwaaang!!

Twisting his wrist, elbow, shoulder, and fingers in different directions, the spear shaft attached to the end rotated at an incredible speed.

Kashuin’s form became blurry and distorted, and the wings on his back shook violently, changing direction and altitude.

Kadudeudeuk!!

Every time Kashuin’s spear-halberd decorated the air, the white light flipped and scattered chaotically.

Acceleration and transformation were immediately carried out at every moment of explosive acceleration, distributing magic power and will.

He accurately planted intense blows all over the crocodile giant’s body.

Dudududu!!!

“…!!”

Even Lenok, who was preparing the final incantation, was momentarily surprised by the well-balanced preemptive strike.

Rather, his martial arts were much more complete than when he faced Lenok at the Ascension Gate.

Was it the influence of Lenok using the high priest’s authority to summon the Archangel and declare the sanctuary?

Kwajijijik!!

The Archangel’s fierce attack, which did not tire despite unleashing monstrous power that was not easily permitted by the human body with just one arm, pounded Kroken’s massive body.

However, Kroken was not greatly shaken by Kashuin’s well-balanced spear techniques.

Rather, he merely smiled, looking at the spear-halberd that was shaking chaotically in front of him, as if he found it interesting.

“Three emissions and one convergence. Is that a spear technique completed using the mysteries of the Trinity? It’s an unexpectedly dogmatic martial art.”

He dodged the spear blade that was about to pierce his eyelid by tilting his head as if it were bothersome, and grabbed the spear blade with his bare hand.

Eujik!!

He effortlessly captured and seized Kashuin’s spear blade, which was fluttering like silk and increasing in speed.

“But if you seize the center, it’s not difficult to break and destroy it.”

Before Kashuin could even retort at the absurd reaction, Kroken moved first.

Kroken twisted his wrist, broke the spear blade, clenched his fist, and then struck the Archangel’s jaw at a speed that was invisible to the eye.

“Die.”

A heavy radiance pierced the Archangel’s form from below, like a steel hammer.

Bbeoeong!!

Kashuin’s head could not withstand the force and immediately exploded.

The Archangel’s head, which had exploded in an instant, scattered into pure white powder.

[…!!!]

The moment Kroken lightly shook his hand, leaving the Archangel’s body staggering and losing balance.

Pooshushuk!!

Holy magic power erupted from below Kashuin’s neck, gushing out like a pure white fountain.

At the same time, the Archangel’s head regenerated in an instant, regaining its balance with a creak as if forcibly raising its body.

Kroken burst into laughter at the bizarre sight.

“I thought it looked unpleasant, and it really was a disgusting monster. Not even a bug, yet it regenerates its head?”

[From the moment the sanctuary was declared, I myself am merely a component to maintain it.]

Kashuin, who had regenerated his head in an instant, adjusted his posture.

[I will not fall until my strength is exhausted. Come, you monster of the heavenly escape!!]

Kwaang!!

The Archangel and the crocodile giant’s forms briefly intersected, but soon, unable to withstand Kroken’s power, they were shattered without a trace.

Not just the head, but also the swords and spears he wielded, and his body were crushed and smashed in a one-sided manner.

However, Kashuin, like a zombie, constantly regenerated his body and clung to Kroken.

He knew what he had to do in this place, at least he didn’t take Lenok’s words lightly.

Every time the Archangel’s body was destroyed and regenerated, the power of the sanctuary rapidly diminished and disappeared without pause.

The moment the power of the sanctuary centered around Kashuin faded, even holding out like that would be over.

“Let’s go.”

Lenok’s body accelerated rapidly from the collapsing memorial tower’s ceiling and fell.

Sweeaeek!!

Everything around him appeared stretched out like thin threads due to the incredible speed.

Even as he fell towards Kroken, increasing his speed to an uncontrollable level, he unleashed a barrage of blinks, mixing in irregularities.

He slipped past the Archangel’s wings, which were shattered and scattered, and instantly reached Kroken’s front.

Thud!!

The dark scales gleamed right in front of him. A massive body that made it hard to breathe just by looking at it.

A strange certainty, as if death was imminent just by standing this close, suddenly arose.

Perhaps it was because he had already confirmed several times that there was no chance of winning at this distance.

“Hoo…!!”

But if not this moment, he might not even be allowed to try again.

Kroken was not one to be bound by promises, but he was not so frivolous as to speak carelessly.

If so, he would surely wait at least for this moment when Lenok unfolded his mindscape [a mental space where one’s thoughts and will can manifest].

Even with the power of the papyrus replenishing his magic, his depleted mental strength did not recover easily.

He could only unfold his mindscape in front of Kroken once. And what he would show was already decided.

Kashuin’s form exploded above his head. Leaving behind the Archangel’s body, which was crushed and broken,

He ignored even the monstrous power and fierce will that erupted from Kroken’s roar and guttural voice for a moment.

Saaat…!!

It felt as if all the surrounding sounds were washed away.

In the silence that sank endlessly into his mind, everything darkened before his eyes and sank deeply.

A self-contemplation to the point of not being able to concentrate, but rather digging deep into his own unconscious.

At the end of it, he pulled out his mindscape as if scooping it up, unfolding a golden magic circle.

Kiiiiiiing…!!

The Ouroboros magic circle flashed, twisting time and rotating as if opening up the perfectly structured muscular body under the dark scales.

The power of Ouroboros, which analyzes and dismantles laws and formulas.

However, what Lenok was aiming for was not Kroken’s microcosm or his mindscape.

He had already realized that such an attack was useless when he had previously stabbed the Ideological Thunder into Kroken’s solar plexus.

If the same situation, the same structure, and the same result awaited, at least Lenok’s choice had to be different.

Therefore, he targeted not Kroken, but the curse he bore with Ouroboros.

If it was a curse targeting Kroken, not Kroken himself, Lenok could analyze and dismantle it with his power.

Weakening superposition. Ideological seal. Comeback. External force origin.

He observed it in the Sanctuary of the Abyss, recognized the curse that bound that massive body, and forcibly captured it.

“…You, could it be?”

Kroken’s expression, realizing that the direction of Ouroboros was not towards him, hardened for the first time.

Thud thud thud!!!

The intangible curses bound to Kroken’s body began to lose their binding force and were released little by little.

Not directly digging into Kroken’s fundamental mindscape, but releasing the curse that bound him and peeking inside.

Beyond the dismantling of the curse’s shackles, he observed Kroken’s inner self with transcendent intuition.

The moment Lenok paused, recognizing an immense presence beyond, the end of which he could not know.

“No, that won’t do.”

In Kroken’s hand, a small sphere that was sinking into blackness floated up.

Goooooo…!!

Just by clenching and opening his fist, it seemed as if all the space-time around Kroken was being drawn in.

An unrealistic miracle of gathering all the nearby gravitational force with mere grip strength and creating a dense sphere.

Kugwagwagwagwa!!!

The sphere, which was devouring all the surrounding matter and magic and growing explosively, met the Ouroboros magic circle at that moment.

The gravitational sphere could not overcome the mindscape of creation magic and was dismantled and annihilated on the spot.

“…!!!”

Lenok’s body was thrown back by the aftershock, but he couldn’t even get up and instead replayed that reaction.

Kroken was showing, for the first time, a mindscape technique based on his will.

However, it was not a technique used to kill Lenok or counter his offensive.

To prevent the power of Ouroboros from working fully, Kroken had created a gravitational sphere and thrown it instead.

That was, in fact, an acknowledgment that the power of Ouroboros that Lenok had activated was effective-

Kuuung!!

Before his thoughts could properly connect, Kroken’s body accelerated at an incredible speed.

He trampled and smashed Kashuin’s form, and in an instant, he trampled Lenok’s body and slammed it into the ground.

“…!!”

“A power that dismantles and decomposes laws. Is that your creation magic?”

The crocodile giant, looking down at Lenok who was gritting his teeth without even screaming, asked with a surprised look.

“You’re a truly audacious one. From the beginning, you targeted not me, but the curse on my body?”

“Cough…!!”

However, Lenok, writhing under Kroken’s foot, gritted his teeth and raised his gaze.

“You want to see the answer… right?”

“…”

The self-magnetic field that emits all possibilities, and Ouroboros that absorbs and converges laws.

Both of the powers that Lenok had obtained by completing and transcending his rank were part of the answer he desired.

A process that desires to become the conclusion itself.

“A bias in the process of drawing the answer… yes, I acknowledge it.”

Kroken nodded, chuckling.

“The magic you showed just now was worth it. But that’s not the wish that needs to be fulfilled right now.”

“Why?”

Lenok retorted.

Even though he was battered and trampled, Lenok’s eyes, looking up at the giant, were filled with a strange certainty.

“About the curse that binds your body… is there a reason why you should react so sensitively?”

Kroken seemed to ponder for a moment at those words, then quietly replied.

“It is natural for paths to diverge when reaching a single destination, brat.”

“…”

“Myung stood before it, and Danjang surpassed it. The situation will not be different for those who have obtained the qualifications.”

“…And you?”

“Sometimes.”

At Lenok’s words, Kroken chuckled.

“Some people are born in front of the line… and must step back to survive.”

“…”

What on earth did that mean?

Kroken’s uncharacteristic, quiet answer.

In order to understand what it meant, he desperately tried to think, turning his unresponsive head.

“It’s time.”

Kroken, who had grabbed Lenok’s convulsing neck, began to drag his body.

“What are you, trying to do…?”

Kwaang!!

As soon as he heard Lenok’s words, Kroken lightly kicked Lenok’s stomach with his tail.

“Don’t talk back.”

“…!!”

A powerful shock that shook his brain enough to penetrate the effects of the painkiller.

If he had put in proper force, it wouldn’t be strange if Lenok’s body had exploded on the spot.

Kroken, dragging Lenok’s limp body, threw Lenok’s body out of the violently shaking tower.

Along with Oris’s spirit body, which was also attached to the magic thread, Lenok’s form fell helplessly out of the tower.

“…!!!”

At that incomprehensible action, Lenok struggled to raise his head even as he fell.

“I said that a tool that doesn’t listen is useless.”

Kroken, standing at the edge of the tower, looked down at Lenok and said.

“From now on, I’ll teach you how to use such a tool.”

“…What?”

At that moment, the crocodile giant’s massive body shattered the steps of the memorial tower and began to soar at an incredible speed.

Kugwagwagwagwagwa!!!!

Every time Kroken’s form soared above the tower, the tower’s steps exploded and collapsed.

As a result, the height of the shaking tower gradually decreased and began to collapse.

Just by repeating a few jumps, the crocodile giant’s form broke the sound barrier.

With a tremendous sonic boom, it became a living storm and headed straight for the top of the tower.

Kwaaaang!!

Kroken’s form, wrapped in the debris of the tower, rose hundreds of meters into the sky.

He perfectly balanced himself in the air by swinging his thick, hard tail like an iron bar, looking down at the ground.

The moment Kroken, with his yellowish reptile pupils, looked at the shaking memorial tower and stretched one hand up into the sky.

Pajik!!

A black, twisted beam of light from the dark clouds in the sky plunged into Kroken’s hand.

Pajik, pajijijik…!!

The black-stained radiance distorted in Kroken’s hand and soon transformed into the shape of a giant hammer.

The moment Lenok realized that the hammer was the artifact that had previously contained the magic of the Arrival.

Kroken’s form, gripping the hammer, flashed and rotated on the spot.

Without any leap, preparation, or warm-up, he swung the hammer he had gripped towards the ground in one blow.

However, at that moment, the immeasurable force that exploded around Kroken met his will for the first time and turned into a giant pillar of light.

Becoming a giant pillar of light that connected the ground and the sky, it pressed down on the entire memorial tower.

Kwaaaaaaa!!!

The memorial tower, which was hundreds of meters high, collapsed from the top and was compressed and exploded along with its debris.

The spirits of the Soul Requiem, the steps of the tower shaking without their wedges. The remains of the annihilated military spirits within.

Kroken’s strike, which gathered all of that and crushed it as if stomping on it.

The culmination of the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons [a Japanese folklore concept of a procession of supernatural creatures]. The failed bridge of souls.

The massive memorial tower, which had long been the center of Yorta, was collapsing due to the decision of a single person.

Kwagwagwagwa!!!

Even Lenok, who was falling below the tower, was swept away by the aftermath and began to fall towards the ground in the opposite direction.

“…”

With Oris’s spirit body attached to the end of the magic thread, Lenok just blankly.

He was watching the epicenter of destruction that Kroken Asilus had created with all his heart.