Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 935

Pajik!

The moment the lightning from Lenok’s fingertip pierced the Apostle’s brow.

The brain-lightning, spinning violently like a tightening screw, exploded behind his head, emitting an enormous amount of light.

Kwaaaaang!!!!

The blue radiance of the lightning filled the inside of the earth sphere and surged upwards.

From the center of the light, a young man in a black coat turned around with a blank expression.

Huuk!

He dropped the ampoule syringe he was holding and chewed and swallowed a mystic elixir.

Lenok, with bandages inscribed with ancient characters wrapped around his wrist and a transparent catheter inserted near his heart.

At that moment, Anathema’s low whisper echoed from within the blazing lightning.

[How pathetic.]

“……”

[Even with such intellect and talent, you require such meticulous preparation just to step onto the battlefield?]

Thud!

He withstood the radiance of the lightning piercing his brow with his bare body and stood up.

Anathema’s gaze turned towards the mage, over the cracked and fractured earth armor.

[What sustains your life is neither providence nor blessing. A talent not permitted to the human race, that is what you are.]

“Maybe it looks that way to you.”

Chik!

Lenok, who lit a cigarette with a flick of his finger, said.

“It’s been a while since I’ve caught an Apostle, so it took some time to prepare.”

[It’s been a while…]

Anathema’s eyes narrowed.

[You speak as if you have faced an Apostle before.]

“If you don’t put in the effort when catching you guys, you become a lot of unnecessary work even after killing you.”

Lenok said, observing the flow of the magic circuit under his wrist as he drew up his magic power.

“Especially considering the stakes in this fight, I needed to deal with you, who are under the protection of the cult leader, as cleanly as possible.”

[Arrogant words. But you, who have brought this fight this far with that body, are qualified to say so.]

Anathema nodded coolly.

[I admit it. The aura of magic you wielded was the most bothersome to me, and the heat of your spells was more painful than anything else.]

“……”

[Your judgment to place vanguards, unleash a barrage of spells, and then choose the moment to end the fight yourself was truly valiant, but… there is one thing you have not grasped.]

Crack!

Anathema said, pointing to the earth sphere beneath his feet.

[This sphere surrounding you and me is not a form that abandons combat to amplify the power of the Apostle’s technique. Rather, its true value lies in the complete opposite.]

The ceiling of the sphere, which was being completed in real-time, gradually narrowed its gaps.

The night sky, which had been glimpsed intermittently, was obscured, and the moment Lenok and Anathema’s figures were completely surrounded by the sphere.

Anathema’s eyes widened for the first time.

[A dueling arena to exclude all external interference and determine victory or defeat. The battlefield surrounding you and me is a prison created solely for a one-on-one duel with the adversary.]

Crack, crack, crack…!!!

At the same time, small cracks appeared on the 6th Apostle’s body, and it began to break apart little by little.

The Apostle’s body, exhausted from the relentless battle, cracked and peeled away like tree bark, repeatedly molting.

[I will not say that your judgment was wrong.]

Thud!

What emerged from inside the cracked shell was Anathema himself, who had first appeared on the altar through manifestation.

[The opening created by the two vanguards at the risk of their lives. The first time I fix my body and cast a large-scale technique. You must have judged it to be the only moment when the true form of the Apostle, assimilated with the earth, becomes vulnerable.]

“……”

[But from the beginning, I had determined that there would be no progress in this battle without killing you. That is why I made it seem as if I was only focused on creating a tidal wave of earth with the Apostle’s technique, changing the terrain, and thoroughly dominating the battlefield. And finally, like this-]

Thud!

Anathema, standing in front of Lenok, whispered in a slow tone.

[I made the bird carrying lightning land in my hand on its own.]

It was true that Anathema had been damaged by the cumulative damage inflicted by Peisha.

But Anathema did not get excited or angry even when his body and soul were pierced simultaneously.

Rather, he was deliberately revealing openings while pretending to focus on activating a large-scale technique, and waiting for Lenok.

He knew that the mage, who had controlled the battlefield at his will until now, would be convinced that the flaw Anathema had shown was designed by himself.

Even if he had to step forward himself, he would surely try to seize the result of his conviction at this place.

That is why Anathema pretended to use a large-scale terrain change technique and deployed a duel arena with the Apostle’s technique.

At the same time as Lenok appeared and plunged in a lightning spell, he built a temporary sanctuary and closed off the battlefield.

[My victory, mage.]

Huuk!

At an invisible speed, the 6th Apostle grabbed Lenok by the collar.

Anathema, looking at Lenok who was lifted up without even resisting, spoke slowly.

[The superiority of the technique, the logic of combat, and the confrontation of strategies, all of them are above you in this Anathema.]

“……”

[Even after being completed as an Apostle, I have proven that I am not a beast that makes wrong judgments while intoxicated by power. Surpassing even the great mage who was consumed by ignorance-]

“I know.”

[……What?]

“I knew what Apostle’s technique you were going to use last.”

Lenok’s blank gaze looked down at Anathema.

“That’s why I didn’t interfere. The construction of a battlefield isolated from the outside was also what I wanted.”

Kwaaaaang!!!

Before those words were even finished, Anathema grabbed Lenok by the collar and slammed him into the ground.

Just by rotating his wrist and drawing up magic power, the ground crumbled, and ripples surged along the walls.

But the moment Anathema realized that no human blood or flesh was visible under the crushed ground.

“The secret of the 6th Apostle, manipulating the surrounding earth to isolate space and time.”

Lenok, who appeared behind Anathema, said as he rubbed the cigarette he was holding against the wall to extinguish it.

“Among the abilities of the sixth Apostle, it is the most unrelated to direct combat, and therefore the most powerful.”

The duel arena created by the Apostle’s technique is a temporary sanctuary created for the purpose of isolating and confining only the opponent and oneself.

It is not an ability that directly helps in combat, but the durability of the duel arena, which is enhanced by using it as a restraint, is truly beyond imagination.

The duel arena used by the previous 6th Apostle in the Well of the Codex was able to hold back even the steps of an Ascendant [a being of immense power] for a short time.

Lenok had already recognized it from the moment Anathema began to construct the duel arena.

Wharuk!

Lenok, who burned and evaporated all the remaining cigarette butts with his fingertips, reached into his coat.

The mage, who crossed the constantly surging earth sphere, moved his steps while inserting an ampoule into his wrist.

Click!

As he pulled out the dangling cylinders and IV needles from his body, the empty vials and syringe needles fell down under his coat.

With one hand, he held the respirator and pulled the lever, and poured five mystic elixirs into his mouth.

Lenok, who was dripping blue magic power from his whole body, smiled again as he walked up to Anathema.

“Don’t think too hard about it. We both wanted the same thing, and we just stepped onto the stage after an agreement.”

[……]

“We tried to settle things without running away or hiding. Isn’t that enough?”

[……Do you want to be righteous to yourself until the last moment on the battlefield? You are truly an incomprehensible human.]

Anathema laughed.

[You were born with transcendent magical talent, yet you act like a proud warrior. In the end, you trust only yourself more than anything else.]

“Whether I wanted to or not, I’ve often been alone when fighting.”

Lenok replied leisurely.

“It’s inevitable if you want to survive among disgusting monsters like the incarnations of the end.”

[Has your limited time made your talent even more boundless?]

The moment Anathema and Lenok took a step forward at the same time, their time accelerated.

The clock they were looking at and the five senses they were seeing and feeling stretched out endlessly and became grotesquely distorted.

[Then I shall take away even that moment when you shone brilliantly here.]

Kiiiiing…!!!

The two monsters’ thoughts exploded and their cognitive abilities expanded to the limit.

In the realm beyond the sixth sense, the seventh sense, the first and second moves were divided, and the Apostle and the mage moved.

[Blink]

[Earth Leap]

The figures of the mage and the Apostle, who were spamming space jumps and ground movements, accelerated at supersonic speed.

Pa-ba-ba-ba-bang!!

With the sound of the ground cracking and thunder raging, dozens of shockwaves erupted from all sides of the duel arena.

Ultra-high-speed spell exchanges clashing in different spaces and times, regardless of direction or altitude.

Dozens of weapons sprang up from under Anathema’s feet and were grasped in his hands, and countless magic circles floated up and rotated behind Lenok’s back.

At every moment when their spells intersected, they moved without staying in one place, completely reorganizing the strategies and structures.

With one step, they chanted dozens of spells and wielded them as weapons, and with another gesture, they destroyed them all.

A clash of madmen who consume and discard even high-level spells that a normal mage must concentrate all their mind on to use, as mere tools.

[Chanting Thunder]

[Six Gates]

Drrrrrrrk!!!

The lightning that pierced Anathema’s body in six layers exploded, throwing the Apostle’s figure backward.

A dazzling lightning spear flashed along the wall, and Lenok, who rode on its end, relentlessly pumped magic power.

The magic power that was pushed out from his whole body with every breath was directly converted into electric-type magic power.

In an instant, he filled half of the duel arena with a dazzling lightning ripple and rotated it.

[Pseudo-Phase Electric Domain]

Bba-ji-ji-jik!!!!

Anathema, who confirmed that, immediately employed the Apostle’s technique with all his might.

The floor of the duel arena rose more than ten meters and turned into a cliff, blocking the wave of lightning.

The collision of the surging earth and lightning.

At the same time as covering the stage of the duel arena with his own attribute, Anathema and Lenok also moved in the storm of magic power.

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

The priority of attack changed relentlessly as they moved around at ultra-high speed.

A giant hammer that transformed the earth was slammed down, and saw blades and fists rotated and collided.

[Spiral Thunder Kill]

[Rotating Step]

He burst a spiraling lightning spear to receive the hammer, and immediately increased the rotation speed and double-casted.

[Bloom]

The lightning that spread out in all directions like a blooming flower of lightning, swept over and burned Anathema’s body.

Unable to withstand the firepower, the earth armor covering Anathema’s entire body burned, cracked, evaporated, and burst.

Ka-ga-ga-gak!!!

[…!!]

It felt as if all the senses of his body were being broken down and crushed.

Excruciating pain that seemed to burn and tear apart bones and nerves beyond flesh and muscle.

The body of the 6th Apostle, which was by far the best in terms of durability and toughness, was crushed, unable to withstand the firepower of the lightning.

Even Anathema momentarily lost his composure and distorted his face at the thunder that pierced beyond his body and even the Apostle’s mind.

[Lightning Technique…!!! It is truly vicious!!]

Among the pure spell-type attribute magic, the unique electric-type magic that has reached the extreme of destruction.

Looking only at the high point of instantaneous output, it is a destructive technique that is rated as the highest among all the abilities that exist on the continent.

There is a condition that all property changes must be mastered and the mind must be controlled in order to increase the output of the technique.

However, the mage in front of him is showing exactly how powerful a weapon it is in the hands of a caster with the ability to overcome it.

The moment Anathema realized that and raised his mind momentarily to add armor.

“Release.”

Lenok’s figure plunged down at an incredible speed as if he had been waiting, and pressed down on his chest.

Kwaaaaang!!!

[Kuk…!!]

“Sky. Pour. Spit. Press. Describe.”

The momentary respite given to Lenok, who had pressed down on the inevitable weakness that occurred in the imbalance of firepower.

As if he had been waiting for that moment from the beginning, Lenok began to chant, making hand seals with both hands.

The moment he pointed as if directing the lightning that surged from all sides while making complex hand seals.

“Designation declaration start.”

A huge hexagram was engraved under the Apostle’s feet, and a storm of lightning erupted.

Electric-type unique magic

6-layer chanting complex resonance

[Thunder Comes, Super-Thought Vibration]

Pa-ji-ji-ji-jik…!!!!

The pillar of thunder that exploded from the vertices of the hexagram tilted and pierced Anathema’s entire body.

A restraint that pierces and tightens the limbs, numbing them and not allowing any movement.

Anathema, who sensed that it was only a prelude to the destructive technique that would follow, roared.

[Ooooooooooo!!!!!!!]

“Six Divine Thunders.”

Lenok, who stepped on Anathema’s shoulder and pointed at his brow, coldly uttered the chant.

“Lament.”

Crack, crack, crack!!

At that moment, a strange noise echoed from the center of the hexagram, and Anathema’s complexion changed completely.

A spatial crack erupted from within Anathema’s body, and immediately after that, Anathema also operated the Apostle’s technique with all his might.

At the same time as a pillar of light soared, Anathema’s body shattered and scattered like an explosion in all directions of the duel arena.

Kwaaaaaaaaaa!!!!

A powerful lightning pillar that crossed as if piercing the center of the earth sphere.

The duel arena, which had even withstood the Codex’s seizures for a while, shook madly as if it would break through at any moment.

Six Divine Thunders Lament, which collides six strands of lightning that pierced the target’s body, splitting the space at its center.

As a result, it is an extreme magic that Lenok newly created, reaching the level of 8, which can interfere with space.

It requires pre-chanting and has the condition that six spells must be forcibly fused through a designation declaration.

However, its power is enough to crush space purely with the collision of lightning.

But Lenok did not withdraw his magic power even after seeing Anathema’s body, which had exploded in front of him.

Because the Apostle’s body, which had burst in all directions immediately after the Six Divine Thunders Lament hit, gathered like puzzle pieces and took shape.

“Did you deliberately split your body and throw it in all directions just before the spatial crack hit?”

Lenok, who had figured out how Anathema had avoided the Six Divine Thunders, smiled as he swept back his hair.

“When a noble from the center becomes an Apostle, they use all sorts of bizarre tricks. Can you call something that regenerates even after self-destructing a living thing?”

[Even after the fall of Ars Nova, the world is still vast and full of geniuses.]

Anathema, who had regenerated his body in an instant, could not hide his admiration and muttered.

[For a caster who uses such an extreme combat method to reach the level of a great mage, it is truly amazing…!]

The only thing protecting the mage’s body is the minimal shield on his skin.

All the magic that Lenok had chanted in battle so far was purely attack magic to destroy the Apostle’s body.

He countered Anathema’s attacks with destructive techniques, and from there, he continued to chant new magic.

He converts all mutual attacks and defenses into attacks, constantly accumulating damage and breaking down the opponent’s defenses.

Even the moment he tries to notice it and counterattack, he uses it as part of psychological warfare, hitting high-level magic that requires pre-chanting.

He intervenes his will in almost every strategy that continues on the battlefield, and it is an extreme tightrope walk to not lose the initiative.

It is a gamble close to giving up his life in vain the moment he fails even once.

Nevertheless, the prowess shown by the mage in front of him was so intense that it could not be compared to the previous two spear users.

[Have you found the light of transcendence at the end of a battle that transcends the limits of mortals?]

Anathema’s eyes, who had realized that, sank deeper than ever before.

[I understand why a human who did not participate in the civil war is carrying the infamous name of a blood-crazed mage.]

“You, on the other hand, are much more annoying to fight than I thought, probably because you are an experienced veteran of the Great War.”

Lenok said, tilting his head with a tired look.

The magic power consumption that was wasted meaninglessly from the point where he failed to hit the Six Divine Thunders Lament was considerable.

Anathema would not have no consumption either, as he repeated self-destruction and regeneration, but he is under the protection of the cult leader.

“It’s one thing to be able to handle the Apostle’s technique skillfully, but to use your own body like a tool already…”

Lenok’s transcendent intuition and combat experience transcend the limits of the species and look beyond it.

There is virtually no opponent who can beat Lenok in the strategy and psychological warfare that transcends the concepts of prediction and foresight.

Most of the enemies that Lenok had faced so far either did not even recognize it or were broken even after understanding it.

But as soon as Anathema realized that he was losing in the strategy with Lenok, he changed direction.

Even if he was hit by Lenok’s magic, he was determined not to be pushed back in the offense and defense, believing in his durability.

The calculation that he would not give up the opportunity to attack even if he was losing in the strategy is not something that anyone can do.

Prioritizing the enemy in front of him, and if he had to abandon it, he would abandon and exclude even his own body.

It is probably possible because Anathema himself is an outstanding warrior and a soldier who has crossed countless battle lines in war.

“Unlike your refined way of speaking, your way of thinking is closer to a soldier. Now that you’ve just become an Apostle, you’ll be able to move freely from the madness for a while, right?”

Ku-gu-gung!!

Lenok, who struck down the falling rock with lightning and shattered it, laughed.

“I guess it’ll be troublesome if I let you live here.”

[That’s not wrong. I will become incomparably stronger after this fight.]

Anathema followed him and laughed, slowly drawing up his magic power.

[Now that I have thrown off the shackles of banishment and manifestation, I am confident that I can absorb and grow by experiencing everything in this world. That must be the reason why he gave me his blessing.]

“……”

[Looking back on all the things I had to deal with hastily while being chased by the time I could maintain my manifestation, I will be reborn as a completely different being than before. And after completely resolving the curse of banishment…]

Thud!

Anathema, standing in front of Lenok, whispered.

[I will have to return to Ars Nova.]

“So, that’s why you joined hands with the cult.”

Lenok nodded.

“What on earth is left in the central city that everyone is trying to get into?”

He knows that Ars Nova’s civilization, technology, and techniques are more advanced than any other city.

The feat of artificially creating a failed Ascendant, Kyulbaek Aurel Silford, was also proof of what level the central city had reached.

But what on earth is left in that ruined city that everyone who seeks answers on the continent is yearning to go beyond the veil?

A question that he had never been able to get an answer to because of the ban.

Lenok did not expect an answer when he asked the question, but surprisingly, Anathema answered.

[A great legacy that can change fate is sleeping there.]

“…Legacy?”

[Kaiser’s failure was only the result of accelerating the predetermined destruction. That is why I do not resent his failure.]

Perhaps he was looking back on his own memories from Lenok’s question, Anathema’s gaze seemed to leave the enemy in front of him and head to a distant place.

[Our great homeland was already heading towards collapse. It was a foregone conclusion from the moment all the miracles and forbidden arts that could be attempted failed.]

“……”

[Only the Emperor had the answer to what would come next. But who truly believed that it was the answer?]

“Could it be, you are…”

Anathema, who speaks about the project and Ars Nova without any hesitation.

From that free answer that he had never heard from others, Lenok realized why the cult leader had made Anathema an Apostle.

The new meaning that Anathema’s name had gained after the fall of Ars Nova.

A contradictory cause and effect that bloomed in a twisted fate.

The people involved in the Black Consumer Project, the nobles of Ars Nova, the long-lived species of Kundara, and the Alcaide.

This traitor was not bound by the absolute [ban] that none of them could avoid.