Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 886

Rumbling…!!

A faint roar echoed.

At the same time, one of the CCTV screens was engulfed in purple flames and then went dark without a sound.

“……”

Even though he was just monitoring from a distance, Sebastian felt a chill run down his spine.

Sebastian couldn’t hide the faint tremor in his voice as he spoke.

“The mercenaries stationed at the main entrance of the business site… they’ve been annihilated.”

[Hah, hah…!!]

“Get out through the passage next to the ventilation shaft and run. Your goal is the emergency stairs on the roof.”

Over the phone, only the frantic breathing of the president, who was running like crazy, could be heard.

“The door near camera 41 is completely sealed. I’ll change the route to the left at the fork where camera 23 is located.”

[Oh, how long do I have to keep running away like this!!]

Whoooom!!

A terrifying roar echoed from far down the hallway as flames swirled and burned everything in their path.

Faintly, through the walls, the desperate screams of humans burning and melting could be heard.

Even Sebastian was getting goosebumps, so the president, who was hearing the sounds up close, must have already gone insane.

[No, the emergency stairs to the roof are too far…!! I’ll escape through the window!!]

“No, you can’t!!”

Sebastian immediately shouted, cutting off the president’s words.

“The entire business site is within Evan Martinez’s sensory range. Any attempt to escape by land will be immediately detected.”

[Then what am I supposed to do…!!]

Even as the president cried out in a panic, Sebastian calmly replied.

“I’ve already called for an unmanned emergency airship. It’s the latest model, using Professor Bylon’s anti-gravity engine, capable of vertical maneuvers even in extremely high temperatures.”

[Th, that’s!!]

“I’ll have it descend and make contact when you reach the roof. Right now, escaping through the sky is the only way.”

Powerful flame mages specialize in occupying space and filling it with their will.

Resonance and transfer, area combustion and saturation. A power specialized in dominating the most extensive range of all attribute magic.

If the opponent is a mage who has reached that level, they cannot escape from their grasp with any half-hearted measures.

Escaping through the sky, where there are no limits, is the only option.

“President. You can survive. I’ve prepared all the necessary means.”

Sebastian calmly reassured the president.

“You have to trust me now.”

[Y, yes. Yes…]

At the point when Sebastian’s persuasion that Evan Martinez’s power was beyond expectations became a reality, the president stopped thinking.

However, in the fear of being burned alive, it was possible that he could deviate from Sebastian’s guidance at any moment.

That’s why Sebastian was doing his best to keep the president from panicking, using the calmest voice he could muster.

Sebastian stared intently at the monitor, thinking.

‘President Domingo is one of the most well-connected people among my clients. If I can save him here…!’

He had already incurred a great debt by recognizing Evan’s true value before other brokers and persuading him.

If he could save President Domingo here, it would be much easier to attract new VIP clients in the future.

Just as Sebastian was thinking that and was about to guide him to the next destination, he saw it.

Whoosh!!

Distorted flames flickered on the other side of the monitor.

The flash of fire that started on one camera screen swept across the opposite camera in the blink of an eye.

Something covered in flames, traversing the complex passages across the vast business site at an incredible speed.

Whirr, whirr, whirr!!

Flames flooded almost simultaneously across dozens of CCTV screens that Sebastian was watching.

The flashes of light, each flickering in a different direction depending on the camera angle, instantly crossed the entire screen.

Whoaahhh!!

“Th, this can’t be…”

Sebastian muttered blankly, realizing that it was the presence of the monster that had just massacred the mercenaries stationed at the business site.

What did it mean that its presence was being revealed simultaneously on all the surveillance cameras installed throughout the business site?

It meant that the opponent possessed tremendous mobility, virtually unconstrained by the area and distance of this business site.

Perhaps, from the beginning, there was no point in trying to escape.

While Sebastian was silent, the president’s voice desperately echoed over the phone.

-Sebastian! Where should I go!!

“…Left.”

Sebastian hurriedly regained his senses and picked up the phone.

Although all the screens except for the president’s were covered in flames, the mage had not yet revealed himself.

If the client hadn’t given up, Sebastian had no choice but to help the president until the end, as he had initially persuaded him.

“It’s not far. There should be a makeshift staircase leading to the roof next to the collapsed emergency exit.”

-Hah, hah…!! I, I found it!!

Clunk!!

With the sound of a door opening, President Domingo’s figure appeared on the camera overlooking the roof.

Sebastian’s voice quickened at the sight of the president successfully reaching the roof.

“Yes, that’s it. The airship is waiting. Hurry before it’s too late…!!”

Thud, thud, thud!!!

As if waiting for those words, an airship with lapis lazuli [a deep-blue semi-precious stone] accents descended from above the business site’s roof.

A rope ladder fell from below the entrance where no one was sitting in the cockpit.

“Oh, oh…!!”

The president grabbed the rope ladder with an indescribable groan, and just as the airship was about to ascend and escape from the business site.

A giant palm of fire grabbed the helicopter in mid-air with both hands and crushed it as if clapping.

Kwaaaaaaang!!!

[…Huh?]

“Ah…”

Sebastian and President Domingo each let out a sigh with different meanings.

From behind the president, a calm voice was heard.

“You shouldn’t run away.”

The president, who had been staring blankly at the helicopter that had evaporated without a trace, slowly turned his head.

Quarrrr!!!

A giant fire giant, larger than the business site building, was standing on two feet, fiercely looking down at the roof.

The giant’s figure turned away, throwing away the wreckage of the helicopter that had been completely crushed and melted in its burning grasp.

Its entire body was flashing with purple flames, a grotesque and hideous form like a distorted monster.

A young man, standing with his back to the fire giant twisting in the air, was staring at the president with a blank face from the edge of the roof.

“Your subordinates have already all lost their lives, how can you be the only one to survive?”

“This can’t be…”

Only then did Sebastian realize where the flames that had appeared on the camera screen had gone and lamented.

The flames that had spread across the entire business site were not a means to chase after the president.

It was merely a preliminary step to create a house-sized fire giant by using the entire vast business site as firewood.

In fact, from the beginning, no one could have survived from this business site.

The president muttered the young man’s name in a trembling voice.

“Evan, Martinez…”

“So you know the name.”

Renok smiled, tapping his ear with one hand.

“No matter how quickly you build up your achievements, it still takes time to build a reputation.”

“……”

“Sometimes, there are problems that only time can solve. That’s why patience is needed.”

The moment the phone the president was holding fell to the ground, Renok took a step towards him.

Only then did Sebastian belatedly regain his senses and shout.

“Mr. Evan Martinez!! My name is Sebastian. Just give me a moment-”

There was no answer.

The moment Renok gestured, a flame flared up like a fan and immediately blew his head off.

Chik!

As the president’s headless corpse fell, Renok turned his gaze to the fallen phone.

“Ah, my apologies. What were you saying?”

“……”

Sebastian, who had been watching everything on the camera screen, couldn’t say anything.

Renok, who had picked up the phone, smiled.

“Did you try to assess the situation and save your client with only fragmented information from the underworld? You’re smart. Or should I say, quick-witted?”

“…That’s.”

Crack!

The phone in Renok’s hand was crushed by an invisible force.

“But I have no intention of looking after the affairs of trash. If you risked your life, you have to accept the consequences.”

“……”

Evan’s cold answer.

However, from those ruthless words, Sebastian could feel a firm conviction about himself.

It was different from the twisted self-confidence that notorious criminals often have.

A strong sense of self-esteem that one could not have unless they had faith in their own abilities or talents.

An odd attitude that felt somewhat overbearing, unlike a watcher who is devoted to the Blue [a reference to a specific group or ideology], which forced even an observer to accept it.

Just as Sebastian was thinking that he had felt this emotion somewhere before-

“So, let me warn this city through you, on behalf of the others.”

“…What do you mean?”

“I have no intention of taking out my anger on the innocent. The reason I’m setting these fires is for only one goal.”

“……”

“The smart ones will know to get out of the way, and the foolish bugs will continue to ignore it. Either way, it doesn’t matter.”

Renok dropped the phone without any regrets and muttered, stepping on it with one foot.

“Because in the end, I’ll be the only one left.”

Crack!!

“……”

Even after the call was disconnected, Sebastian couldn’t get up from his seat for a long time.

Sebastian, who was staring blankly at the turned-off monitor, reached out with difficulty and picked up the half-empty wine bottle.

He grabbed the bottle with one hand and drank the wine, then slowly got up from his seat. His fingers trembled faintly as he dialed a number on his phone.

“…Jenny, it’s me. Can you hear me?”

Sebastian slowly brought the phone to his ear and said.

“I’ve made contact with Evan Martinez. He… sent a message.”

* * *

Swaaaahhh!!

It was raining heavily.

Large raindrops fell from the cloudy sky, cooling down the heat of the battlefield.

Chiiiik!!

The figure of the fire giant, surrounded by a mist of water, was evaporating all the raindrops around it just by standing there.

The purple flames flickered between the raindrops, corroding and twisting the space as they spread.

The moment Renok reached out his hand towards the fire giant, its massive body distorted and was sucked into his hand.

Whoooom…!!

With a strange rotating sound, the flames turned into a giant fireball in Renok’s hand.

Only after the fire giant disappeared did the rain begin to pour down on Renok’s head.

Swaaaahhh!!

Renok, turning around while being hit by the pouring rain, was lost in thought as he looked down at the scenery of the street below the business site.

The fourth flame core. And the crystallized mana that had been preheated and stored after being manifested.

The flames of evil fire that bloomed by using negative emotions as fuel, and whose firepower did not even rely on ordinary firewood.

But that’s why it was more than suitable as a new flame for the Red Star System [a technique that amplifies spells using a pre-built mana core].

Surely, embers like this must still be hidden in plain sight throughout this city.

‘It’s just a little bit more.’

The simultaneous operation of the main body and the avatar.

Even if it was stabilized with natural techniques, it was impossible to completely control the fluctuating mana right away.

That’s why Renok was dispersing and compressing his mana externally, carrying it around as an external mana core.

On the other hand, it was also a process of making everyone understand the actions that Evan Martinez was showing in this city.

What kind of power and talent the flame mage who was guarding Lapis Palsier had.

What means and methods he used to build up his power, and how he was trying to face the most notorious mage in this city.

A process of filling in the gap in the causality that was infinitely lacking compared to the reputation of the Adamantine [a title or name of a powerful mage], so that everyone watching this situation could understand.

‘If I can successfully complete the operation of the avatar in this incident, there will be more room to apply my identity in various ways in the future.’

Renok thought, with a wet cigar in his mouth.

‘It was reckless for an experiment, but quite stable for a challenge. All I need is time.’

It was about operating himself and his avatar simultaneously while being watched throughout the Balkan region.

There wouldn’t be many stages where the operational ability of the avatar could be thoroughly tested as much as at this moment.

It was just a little bit more.

There was no need to force a confrontation by setting up a stage, the situation would naturally flow.

All that remained was whether Ivelin could help Lapis in time.

Just as Renok was thinking that and was about to leave the business site without any regrets, someone called out to Renok from behind.

“Evan Martinez?”

From the opposite side of the rain-soaked roof, someone wearing a black hood was looking at Renok.

A dark shadow that made it difficult to guess the face under the hood.

“I’ve been waiting for you.”

“Who are you?”

“The Central Council.”

The shadow pointed a finger at the sky.

“I’m a messenger sent from the higher-ups.”

“……”

The Council’s Upper House was trying to contact Evan directly.

After the arrest warrant was issued for the suspicion of assassinating the Deputy Mayor, it was virtually the first time that the Council had made its position clear.

Considering that the factions within the Upper House were extremely divided, it was likely that it was not the opinion of the entire Upper House.

But it was worth listening to.

“Did you come because of the arrest warrant?”

“You could say that, or you could say not.”

“……”

As Renok frowned and took out a flint, the other party added a word.

“The divine power you have shown in this city is truly impressive. Many dignitaries of the Central Council are admiring your talent.”

“Those who put a death warrant on my head are not the ones I want to hear that from.”

“The arrest warrant was not issued by the Central Council. It was the city government that took action after confirming the Deputy Mayor’s condition.”

The shadow calmly explained.

“Shouldn’t we distinguish between the responsibilities and authority that exist between the Council and the government?”

“If the Central Council’s authority was only that much, this city wouldn’t be in this state.”

Renok scoffed.

“What do you want to say? Do you want to give a long speech about how the power of the Balkan is distributed?”

“We can withdraw the arrest warrant that has been issued for you.”

“……”

“Not only that, but we will also take care of all the charges against Lapis Palsier.”

The hooded figure said.

“We have already finished coordinating with the city government. If you agree, we can cleanly undo everything that has happened in the past week.”

They had finished coordinating opinions between the government and the council in a few days and started to resolve the situation.

If they had decided to settle the matter regardless of the life or death of Deputy Mayor Weinstein, it was understandable why they were trying to contact Renok at this point.

However, the fact that they were going out of their way to inform Renok of this in advance meant-

“There’s a condition. What do you want?”

“Nothing.”

The shadow shook its head.

“You don’t have to accept any conditions. Rather, we would like to ask you for a favor.”

“A favor.”

“Please continue what you were doing.”

“……”

Renok was silent, and the other party smiled.

“Just like now, you can burn this city to your heart’s content to save your master. Until the very end. Never stop.”

“Until the very end…”

Renok couldn’t help but laugh along with the other party.

The moment he heard those words, he realized what they wanted.

“Until the moment I stand before the Adamantine?”

“Yes.”

The other party slowly nodded.

“If you need a stage, we will prepare it for you. If you need actors, we will bring you as much well-burning trash as you want.”

“……”

“Just burn it all and show us. Too many dignitaries in this city are curious to know if your flames are truly comparable to that mage.”

It was raining.

Between the raindrops where even each other’s words could not be heard properly, the hooded figure whispered quietly.

As if they were afraid that someone might be eavesdropping even at this moment.

“We believe that your existence may be the only counter to the Adamantine at this point.”