Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 869

The barcode flickered on Lenok’s wrist, as if trying to take hold.

*Kiiing!*

But it couldn’t quite settle, instead pathetically drifting over his skin, shimmering faintly.

A precarious glow, flickering as if it would vanish into thin air at any moment. The access code to Sector 19, extracted from Clifton’s body.

A bizarre situation where a bio-code that no longer existed in any tangible form was trying to attach itself to Lenok, not Lapis.

Everyone was stunned by this unexpected turn of events, but Gaizl was the first to regain his senses and shouted.

“Mage, grab it!! If this goes on, the authority will disappear!”

“Wait, Gaizl!”

Mayer quickly tapped his staff and yelled.

“It’s impossible if the bio-code hasn’t properly attached. If the capacity was sufficient, this wouldn’t be happening!”

“That’s nonsense. We have to save it no matter what!”

Gaizl urgently approached Lenok, quickly scanning their surroundings.

Frantically touching the medical equipment scattered around the room, Gaizl shouted at the watching medical staff.

“Pattern preservation device, particle isolation monitor, bio-code incubator!! Anything that can hold the bio-code, bring it now! Immediately!!”

[Y-yes, sir…!!]

While several medical personnel rushed out of the room, Gaizl grabbed Lenok’s hand and lifted it into the air.

“Your body can’t accept the access bio-code. It’s a lack of innate capacity, whether it’s magic or physical. I’ve seen cases like this before.”

Was he misunderstanding that Lenok had rejected the access code with target designation resistance?

It seemed Gaizl had indeed seen a few cases where the bio-code hadn’t been properly transferred.

The old man, still holding Lenok’s arm, said,

“I’ll give you time, so empty your capacity no matter what. I’ll help you directly!”

“No, it’s not necessary.”

“Alright, then let’s start right- what?”

Gaizl, who was about to move, turned his gaze sharply at Lenok’s response.

Ignoring Gaizl’s burning gaze, Lenok silently stared at the barcode hovering over his wrist.

‘Access to Sector 19, a restricted area. And it’s access data existing as a bio-code.’

Sector 19 was a restricted area designated in the early days of Balkan, a forbidden zone with security and danger unlike any other.

Lenok had previously received access to a restricted area to solve the problem of Sector 25, but this Sector 19 bio-code was not responding to it.

It was proof that the authority between the two sectors existed in completely different forms.

‘If I think about how the Key Keeper did it back then…’

How the Key Keeper of the Council of Elders, Lucinda of the Colossus Corps, had transferred the bio-code to Lenok.

After a moment of contemplation, Lenok stared at the barcode’s glow and then abruptly rubbed it against Lapis’s wrist.

“U-um… Evan, sir.”

Lapis stammered, flustered, but quietly allowed Lenok to move her wrist as he pleased.

However, Lenok shook his head after rubbing the barcode’s glow on Lapis’s wrist a few more times.

“It won’t work. It’s not a code that can be transferred physically in the first place.”

“I told you it wouldn’t work!!”

“You’ve been just shouting loudly since a while ago. I just want to be sure of the situation.”

When Gaizl, unable to contain his frustration, pressed him, Lenok turned to him with a cold gaze.

“If I receive this instead of Lapis and inherit the authority, what happens to the deal between the Azure Eye and the City Council?”

“That’s…”

“The premise was that Lapis would fully inherit the access authority to the restricted area that Clifton had.”

“…”

Lenok’s reason for refusing the authority, even though he knew that he had become the target of the Sector 19 access code, was not for any other reason.

This very moment was part of the deal that had been established between Lapis and the Balkan City Council.

Lenok was considering the possibility that the deal itself could be jeopardized the moment he intervened and took it.

Gaizl seemed to understand Lenok’s words immediately, and fell silent, momentarily speechless.

Lenok waved his hand leisurely, seeing his reaction.

“I need to get confirmation here that there will be no problems with the existing agreement even if the recipient of the authority changes.”

“You’re out of your mind… That’s the most dangerous and valuable data code in this city.”

Gaizl said, unable to hide his disgruntled reaction.

“You’re going to make a new deal with the City Council at this point?”

“That’s none of my concern.”

He had never cared about the city councilors even when he was a Demi [a being of immense power], so how much less would he care in this identity, which had no connection to Balkan?

For the sake of his immediate goal, Lenok was even considering turning this ward upside down.

“You’d better answer quickly before the bio-code disappears.”

Lenok said, lightly shaking his wrist.

Following his light gesture, the bright yellow barcode light moved slowly, like a tail chasing its head.

Mayer, who had been silently lost in thought, answered.

“Probably… the existing agreement will likely be completely nullified.”

“Councilor Mayer!”

“Gaizl, calm down. Do you think you can hide anything from that mage right now?”

Gaizl turned his gaze in confusion, but Mayer remained calm.

“He didn’t waver for a moment when he received the access authority. He had already made his decision when we were all frozen in place.”

“…!!”

“He might even be thinking of killing all the witnesses here.”

Lenok chuckled at Mayer’s accurate assessment.

He realized that this old councilor, whom he had seen after a long time, still maintained the sharp judgment he remembered.

In reality, he had no intention of killing even Mayer, but the fact that such a guess was not completely off the mark was also true.

Gaizl’s cheeks twitched as he realized that Mayer’s words were not wrong, seeing Lenok’s reaction.

“This… this is…”

“Was it Evan, you said?”

Mayer said, smiling at Lenok.

“That’s a good name. There’s a very famous genius in this city with the same name.”

“…”

“You couldn’t have predicted this situation, but your judgment to stop and think about your employer’s deal in that short time is truly sharp.”

At those words, Lenok felt Lapis glance at him, but he ignored it.

“Enough with the pleasantries.”

“It’s as you think. If the access authority is not transferred to the Lighthouse Keeper, the City Council will consider the contract invalid and try to break it.”

Mayer nodded, not noticing such a reaction.

“But you can understand. Even the agreement to transfer the access authority to the Lighthouse Keeper, the leader of the Azure Eye and a descendant of the Ascended [beings of great power], took so long, do you think the City Council would accept the result of transferring the authority to an uncertified mage who came from who knows where?”

“…”

“But there is a single compromise here that can satisfy both sides.”

“What do you mean?”

“How about we cover this up and move on?”

As soon as Mayer said that, a quiet silence fell over the ward.

“Gaizl and I will report to the higher-ups that the access authority to the restricted area was properly transferred to the Lighthouse Keeper. In return, you will inherit the access authority and tell us what happened to Clifton’s fate.”

“You’re saying we should bury this as if it was a success.”

“Think about it. It’s not good news for anyone if the bio-code of the access authority disappears without any meaning. From that moment on, the option of burying this incident becomes impossible.”

Mayer glanced at the bio-code, still not attached to Lenok’s body, as if he was still concerned about it.

“Wasn’t the reason why Palcier wanted the access authority because he had business in Sector 19? The Azure Eye won’t gain anything either if this goes on. Isn’t that right?”

“…”

Mayer’s skillful way of speaking, as if turning the conversation to Lapis.

However, Lapis did not show any particular reaction to Mayer’s proposal.

She simply got up from her seat with a tired look, shook her head while being supported by Patisha.

“I don’t have the right to say anything about an authority that didn’t come to me in the proper way.”

“…Palcier, sir?”

“I will leave it to Evan’s decision. I can accept it even if the deal ends here.”

A declaration that the leader of the Azure Eye would entrust the fate of an intercity agreement to a single mage.

Only then did Gaizl turn his gaze, as if he had realized something.

“…You, you weren’t just a bodyguard. A mage that the Lighthouse Keeper trusts so much, who are you?”

“…”

Instead of answering, Lenok silently met Lapis’s gaze.

Lapis’s sky-blue eyes, which met his, did not waver in the slightest.

“…Alright.”

Lenok, raising his hand lightly, pulled up his magic power and covered his wrist with his other hand.

*Wooooooom!!!*

At that moment, an enormous amount of magic power, as if about to explode inside the ward, burst out and swirled around Lenok’s hand.

Gaizl and Mayer’s faces changed drastically at the immense output that made their hearts sink.

“It wasn’t that the capacity was insufficient, it was just that he was stopping it with force!”

“How strong is his will that he can do something like this…!!”

*Kiiing…!!*

The shape of the barcode was faintly glowing and being imprinted on the skin of his wrist.

Lenok awkwardly touched his wrist at the sensation of the code pressing down on his skin as if it had actual weight.

The access authority he had received before to enter Sector 25. The feeling of being overlaid on top of the original bio-code was very awkward.

‘A bio-code for access authority… of all things.’

Why was the access authority to the restricted area transferred to Lenok instead of Lapis?

There were too many reasons and guesses to count.

Was it because another access authority to a restricted area that he had received before during the Sector 25 incident responded?

Was it because the priest’s qualification he received from the priestess removed the foreign substance from the body of Clifton, who was an apostle [a follower of a powerful being] ?

Or was it because the barrier technique of Jintun had altered the bio-code of the access authority and made it his?

Each one was a plausible reason to seriously consider, but none of them were easy to clarify right now.

No, considering that Clifton had the body of an apostle, among the apostles Lenok had killed, perhaps-

At that moment, Gaizl muttered as if something had come to mind.

“The skill to stop the transfer process of the bio-code and the overwhelming allowable output… it’s a higher concept that surpasses simple force.”

“…”

Gaizl, his eyes narrowed subtly, murmured quietly as if recalling a memory.

“I remember hearing something before. Among the helpers in the Eye of Azure, there’s a rumor of a very talented mage.”

“It’s decided then.”

Mayer, cutting off Gaizl, glanced at Lenok and rose from his seat.

Looking somewhat relieved, Mayer slowly spoke while gazing at the bio-code engraved on Lenok’s wrist.

“It’s very fortunate that both the Palshier [a title for a lighthouse keeper] and the mage are people we can communicate with. We almost had a major incident.”

“……”

“Then, Palshier, would you tell us what you saw regarding Councilor Clifton’s fate?”

“……I will keep my promise as planned. But is this man’s fate such an important matter?”

Unlike before, Lapis’s tone when referring to Clifton had become quite sharp.

Mayer, noticing this, turned to her, slightly surprised.

“It seems you did see something.”

“……”

“Well, now that things have come to this, some explanation about this is needed.”

Mayer shrugged, looking at the bed where Clifton, still exuding a strange aura, was lying.

“There are many power-hungry individuals in this city who have fallen from grace while dreaming of immortality beyond their station. Among them are trumpeters who have become one with the Tree of Calamity, and fools who tried to escape to the spirit realm by becoming spirits themselves.”

“……”

Was it a delusion to think he knew who both of those cases were referring to?

Mayer continued his explanation, leaving Lenok, who was making an effort to lift his gaze.

“However, there are many people within the council who are curious about the end of Senator Ramonte Clifton. This is partly because he is a pioneer among those who have similarly fallen from grace, but also because he is the one who has gone through the most trial and error in trying to change his own essence.”

“……”

“As Evan mentioned earlier, this man obtained the body of an apostle [a follower of a powerful being] without believing in the doctrine. Although he failed, he once forcibly transplanted over thousands of bio-codes into his body, replacing Lucinda of the Elder Council.”

Mayer spoke again.

“In the process, it was ultimately proven that humans cannot play a role as ignorant as key keepers… but the conclusion is the same. He is still alive despite continuously injecting something presumptuous that is not allowed for a human body.”

Mayer turned his gaze towards Lapis.

“Aren’t you curious about what exists at the end of that?”

“Why are the city councilors so curious about this man’s end?”

“Because everyone wants to know where the worst case lies.”

Mayer smiled.

“Dreaming of eternal life and existence is the instinct of life. But to know how much to pursue it without suffering when you fail, you have to look at the cases of other failures.”

“……”

Lapis quietly lowered her head, her expression unreadable.

“He sacrificed a great many people.”

A calm voice flowed out from between her flowing blue hair.

“The number and scale of human sacrifices this man has committed are already beyond what can be explained by human morality.”

“I suppose so.”

Obtaining the body of an apostle without believing in the doctrine was proof that Clifton had become an apostle through the apostle selection ritual.

The number of human lives sacrificed in that process must have been enormous.

“The situation would not be different for other senators dreaming of eternal life. I….”

Lapis said with a dark, sunken gaze.

“I despise it.”

“……”

A chilling silence descended.

Lapis quietly looked around and spoke.

“Within Ramonte Clifton, there is a madness and chaos that is not of human origin echoing. The curse on his body is rather acting as a shackle, preventing that chaos from blooming.”

“That’s….”

“If you bring a very skilled interpreter or exorcist, you might be able to improve his condition, but what will awaken here will not be human.”

Lapis’s gaze towards Clifton turned cold.

“He is a clumsy imitation, unable to properly receive the power of the Outer Sea, begging for life with an empty vessel. I think this man should be killed right now.”

Has Lapis ever been so assertive about anyone before?

Even when her own life was in danger, she never got agitated, let alone utter a single curse.

While Lenok and Patisha looked at Lapis with surprise, Mayer shook his head, looking troubled.

“I’m sorry, but that would be difficult.”

“……”

“I also respect the existence of the lighthouse keeper and their great duty. But this man is no longer an independent life but an asset of the city council, and must be managed without loss.”

“Even if this man awakens and massacres tens of thousands of citizens, turning them into his own kind?”

Mayer gave a wry smile at Lapis’s cold question.

“Such potential risks are as common as the stars in the night sky in this city.”

“……”

“I appreciate the Palshier’s concern for the citizens. But managing and stably operating Vulcan is the responsibility of the Central Council.”

Mayer answered, cutting off Lapis’s proposal.

“I am grateful for the lighthouse keeper’s dedication and cooperation. I will personally escort you on your way.”

Lapis did not respond to those words.

She only stared at Mayer with a cold gaze, then sighed and nodded.

“There are indeed many excellent people in the Vulcan City Council.”

“……”

“I was rude. Then, I’ll leave it to you.”

Lapis had glimpsed Clifton’s past atrocities and his end, and was enraged, but she was not so naive as to not know that Mayer was not at fault.

She realized that all of Mayer’s words were a means to absorb Lapis’s anger, and instead, she quickly calmed her own agitation.

Leaving Lapis, who had left the room as if she couldn’t bear to see any more, Mayer smiled wryly and said to Lenok.

“To have both purity and composure at that age, she is indeed living up to her reputation.”

“……”

“If someone has to bear the mission of lighting the lighthouses of the entire continent, it should be someone like her.”

Well, Lenok didn’t think Lapis was a superhuman born with such a disposition.

She was more meticulous than she appeared, and more resilient than that, but that talent was not something she was born with, but something she had created.

The saying that a position makes a person was certainly true for Lapis.

Knowing that, wasn’t that why Lenok had placed himself as an enemy of the Eye of Azure and had been steadily watching Lapis?

Mayer, tapping his cane, nodded towards the silent Lenok.

“I’ve finished reporting to the higher-ups. An agent will come to guide you to District 19 now.”

They passed through a corridor covered in all sorts of strange talismans and stood in front of the elevator.

However, even after getting back into the elevator, Mayer did not press the button for the first floor.

Instead, he took out a strangely twisted key from his pocket and inserted it below the elevator buttons.

Click!

At the same time, the lock on the lower part of the control panel was released, revealing a new button.

As he naturally pressed the button, the elevator began to ascend at an unprecedented speed.

Whoosh!

The elevator’s speed increased madly, and soon, a feeling of floating, as if the body was lightly lifted, was felt.

“This is….”

“Did you notice?”

Lenok, feeling a strong sense of incongruity from the strange floating sensation, frowned, and Mayer smiled faintly.

He seemed to have been impressed by Lenok’s deciphering of the VIP ward’s coordinate overlapping technology before they arrived at the room.

Given Mayer’s personality of showing strong favor to talented individuals, he must have become interested in Evan because of that incident.

Did that help in overcoming the anomaly that occurred with the access authority?

Having thought that far, Lenok replied.

“It’s a technology that wouldn’t be out of place in a military facility, not a hospital. When did you get your hands on something like this?”

A small-scale space transfer that instantly skips through multiple coordinates that are layered and separated by floors.

It was a place not originally divided by the floors of the ward, but it seems they were using space coordinate overlapping technology to skip through it at once.

Converting the amount of magic power consumed into money would be the height of inefficiency, but it was even more surprising that they had managed to implement it in this way.

Mayer, leaning against the wall with his cane, replied.

“By now, the news that the lighthouse keeper has visited Vulcan will have started to spread. It wasn’t as if we were meticulously hiding your path.”

“……”

“Those who covet the Palshier’s abilities and status will also flock like clouds.”

“So you’re using the ward’s space coordinate overlapping technology to avoid them?”

“The city council doesn’t have prejudices about such technology.”

Mayer replied with his eyes closed.

“While they are intoxicated with the glory and the smell of blood of the past, they are very proactive in embracing new civilizations and technologies. And at the forefront of that is-”

Ding!

At that moment, the elevator doors opened, arriving at a new floor of the ward that did not originally exist.

Beyond the door was a completely different scene from the lobby on the first floor they had passed through and the gloomy corridor full of talismans.

[Ah, Lapis Palshier. You’ve finally arrived.]

A vast hangar where a huge spaceship was on display.

In the center, a middle-aged woman with the lower half of her face covered by an iron mask was smiling, looking down at the elevator.

[Mayer was much later than the promised time, so I was wondering if I should intervene.]

“……Who are you?”

[Ah, you wouldn’t know my face, would you?]

The woman, as if just realizing it, clapped her hands and bowed with an exaggerated gesture.

A well-tailored suit that fit her tall physique. A cyan brooch shining on her chest. All sorts of rare artifacts sparkling on her wrist.

From behind the mask that hid her mouth, an artificially created mechanical voice flowed out.

[I’m Amy Weinstein, the First Deputy Mayor of the City Government. It’s a pleasure to meet the lighthouse keeper.]

“Deputy Mayor…?”

The position of the mayor, who was shrouded in mystery even within the Vulcan City Government.

Was it possible that the second most powerful person with administrative authority was here waiting for Lapis in person?

[This is the first stop to enter District 19. After a simple inspection here, you will enter the closed area.]

At the same time as Amy lightly gestured, the lights on the spaceship behind her began to turn on.

Whoosh!!!

As all sorts of control systems and propulsion equipment lit up, the sound of air vibrating as ignition began between the rocket propellants.

Even amidst the loud noise that echoed throughout the hangar, Amy’s leisurely voice could be heard clearly.

[To commemorate the establishment of a new relationship between the Eye of Azure and the City Council, I will personally guide you to District 19.]