Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 965

Clang, clang!!!

A vast underground temple, spanning hundreds of meters in radius.

Amidst the purple corridors illuminated by gravity stones, a glass-like gauntlet shot out at tremendous speed.

A clash transcending space and thought between two level 8 extreme ability users.

Lenok’s counter, intercepting Maiya’s offensive and causing the forbidden weapon to go berserk, seizing its ownership.

Claaang!!

“Ugh…!!!”

Soryu’s arm, attempting to grab the gauntlet that had been flung away at supersonic speed, shattered on the spot and turned to ice.

The forbidden weapon, emitting a glass-like radiance, didn’t even allow a proper touch, let alone capture.

Soryu, who had instantly returned to human form, quickly shouted.

“Magical power or mental interference won’t work. We have to grab it directly!!”

“Yes, I’m going!!”

The forbidden weapon, freed from the crystal seal, automatically chanted its manipulation formula without any restrictions.

The surrounding space twisted randomly, causing Sutra [the forbidden weapon] to move erratically, leaping tens of meters.

Thwack, thwack, thwack!!

“Alright, come here!! Quickly, come into my arms!”

Ermong, who had been scrambling along the temple wall, leaped towards Sutra from above.

Ermong, barely managing to grab Sutra, shouted as he shoved his left hand into it.

“It’s not really my intention, but I have no choice. Since it’s come to this, I’ll try being a manipulator for once- Ugh!!”

Thud!!

At that moment, the giant bird-headed figure’s massive body fell onto Ermong’s arm, starting with its rear.

Felix, who had switched places with Sutra, looked down with a bewildered expression.

“So, this is what random spatial transfer is like. It’s more disorienting than I thought.”

“Uwaaaah!?!! My arm!! My arm?!!”

Ermong’s left arm, crushed under Felix’s body, which weighed hundreds of kilograms, was mangled.

It was hard to say if even the joints were intact, let alone the bones.

However, Felix’s expression towards the loudly screaming Ermong was utterly cold.

“How about you put down the gravity stone you’re holding and then talk?”

“Ah, really.”

Ermong sighed and turned into a hard stone on the spot.

Behind the pile of stones that fell with a thud, a new Ermong rolled out, grumbling.

“Gemstone techniques are all good, but this is the problem. It’s so obvious what kind of technique I’m using, it takes away the fun of seeing the reaction.”

“I don’t understand how a gemstone technique using gravity stones as a catalyst can nullify damage to such an extent.”

Felix lifted his hammer, looking at Ermong with a heavy gaze.

“That doesn’t seem like gravity, but rather a technique related to mass.”

“Yes, I’m not in a position to understand the principles, but rather to imitate the abilities.”

Ermong laughed and quickly stepped back.

“In the first place, the origin of gemstone techniques isn’t human, but long-lived species that had an abundance of wealth, especially dragons. I don’t think it’s easy for humans to understand which gem is converted into which ability, do you?”

“That’s quite an interesting story.”

At that moment, Lenok, who had landed behind Ermong, asked.

“Would you mind telling me more about it later?”

“Kieeeek!! Maiya!!”

Whoosh!!

Ignoring Ermong, who was convulsing as if he had seen a ghost, Maiya sprinted along the inner wall of the temple corridor.

A pure speed that defied gravity, running vertically using only the speed of her legs.

Maiya’s blurred figure kicked off the air and accelerated once more, directly colliding with Ermong.

Kuaaaang!!!

“No, what are you aiming for? Please!! We’re on the same side!!”

Leaving Ermong, who was abandoning his broken body and fleeing while screaming, Lenok, who had easily evaded the attack, turned his gaze.

Lenok smiled as he looked at Maiya’s pale face, who was having trouble maintaining her balance even while standing still.

“It seems like your sense of direction is paralyzed. Are you reaching your limit?”

“……”

“The amplification of the mind and the amplification of thought using the forbidden weapon. It’s a powerful force that forcibly expands the user’s vessel, but the power source must be fully borne by the user.”

A forbidden artifact created in Ars Nova [a fictional place]. Moreover, it was made using the bloodline of an ascendant and a high-level manipulator as materials.

It was obvious that Maiya’s combat power had jumped to another dimension the moment she obtained the forbidden weapon.

In fact, Maiya was able to manipulate space to fight Lenok, and even destroy Lenok’s mental domain by firing small universes.

However, the cost to be paid in the process was entirely Maiya’s responsibility.

“It makes you able to do the impossible, but the price is entirely borne by the user… It’s truly a forbidden weapon.”

“I wonder…”

Lenok’s words, instantly seeing through how Maiya was able to exert such powerful force.

However, Maiya, with her hand on her hip, did not waver even while struggling to maintain her balance.

Instead, she merely stared at Lenok’s blurry figure with a sunken gaze.

“It was you who was gradually reacting slower.”

“……”

“You were caught by me trying to steal my inner core, and your reactions have been so dull that they’ve practically stopped.”

Maiya’s eyes flashed sharply as she looked at Lenok, who did not answer.

“To suddenly reduce the cost of combat to this extent, were you that unwell?”

The opponent was a great mage who had returned from a battle that had halved a satellite city and the six apostles of the cult just a few days ago.

She thought he would lack the strength, but she never imagined he would stop like a broken machine.

The divine power that the mage had shown until just now felt like a lie, with his heavy and sluggish reactions.

There was a precariousness that felt like watching a candle about to go out.

The fact that he was still confronting Maiya with such a body felt like a miracle.

Even if there was exaggeration, Gyeonroe’s critical condition was definitely not a lie.

The moment Maiya, certain of this, slowly grasped her short sword and pulled up her mental power.

“Summoning magic is a technique that requires a surprising amount of concentration.”

Lenok, with a wry smile, mumbled as he took out a cigarette.

“…What?”

“If you want to use it when you really need it, it takes a little time to get a feel for it.”

Lenok slowly tilted his head to the side, his gaze blurring as if looking far away from the underground chamber.

“After all, this must be because I’m dealing with a power that is different from my origin.”

“……”

[Maiya, this way!!]

Was the carapace shield and lightning giant that Lenok had summoned such an ill-suited power for him?

While Maiya was paused by that incomprehensible answer, Soryu, who had returned to human form, exhaled a cold breath towards the ceiling.

Whoosh!!

Following the cold air that Soryu exhaled, the dust cloud froze, creating an ice path above the temple.

It was impossible to grab the forbidden weapon using magic or techniques.

Unless a living human hand directly grabbed the artifact, it was impossible to retrieve it.

The moment Soryu, who had fearlessly climbed onto the ice path, accelerated as if sliding and leaped towards Sutra.

“Where do you think you’re going, you ice bastard!!”

Peisha, who had kicked off the ground and leaped up, broke the ice path and soared, kicking Soryu in the stomach with her knee.

Thud, thud!!

Kuaang!!

“……!!”

The speed was so fast that even Soryu couldn’t change his body into ice and was hit directly.

However, Soryu maintained consciousness despite the pain of his stomach being pierced and immediately changed his body back into ice.

Because the moment Peisha realized she had succeeded in hitting Soryu’s body, she swung her spear and shattered his body into pieces.

Crack!!

“Whether it’s you or that black mage, you’re both amazing at protecting yourselves.”

Peisha, who had shattered the body made of ice in an instant, sneered as she looked at Soryu, who was regenerating a few steps away.

“Is that why you’re so fearless, sneaking in here to steal?”

“The bloodline ability passed down from the blood of Kavahim is not a useful blessing for everyone.”

Soryu replied, wiping the blood that flowed from his ice-covered lips.

“The talent created by filtering through the processing and selection of bloodlines often accompanies genetic diseases.”

“……”

“It was more important not to be cursed than to be blessed… That’s why I gave up the throne.”

Soryu’s eyes, which had lowered as if exhausted, gleamed eerily.

“If you’re not prepared to be cursed, you can’t be blessed either.”

“Hey, prince. I’m not really interested in your pathetic family history.”

Peisha laughed.

Peisha, who walked down the collapsing ice path as if it were flat ground, said, carrying her spear on her shoulder.

“What’s important is that I don’t like your attitude of trying to gain an advantage without even fighting.”

“I know it’s not a soldier’s way. It might look that way to a noble warrior who was active on the central front.”

Soryu said, looking coldly behind Peisha.

“But we are neither soldiers, knights, nor thieves.”

Soryu, bringing his hand wearing the ice artifact to his neck, tilted his head back.

“We’re just criminals with a lot of wants.”

“That’s why I’m saying your shameless words are infuriating, you bastard!!”

Whoosh!!!

Right after Peisha’s shoulder, holding the spear in reverse, blurred, the spear blade that flashed in the air was embedded in Soryu’s head.

A chilling spear throw that aimed to shatter his brain and kill him without even giving him a chance to use ice transformation.

However, instead of collapsing while scattering blood, Soryu shattered his body like an ice sculpture.

Whoosh!!

At the same time, a fierce blizzard raged around his body, beginning to pass by Peisha.

Peisha, finally realizing Soryu’s intention, turned her gaze with a bewildered expression.

“That bastard, turning his body into a blizzard…!!”

Even for a user of elemental bloodline abilities, the best they could do was to change their body into an element and regenerate.

Manipulating one’s body into particles and scattering them like now was practically beyond the human realm.

It was probably possible because the ice artifact that Soryu possessed was enhancing his bloodline ability.

Whoosh-!!

While Peisha retrieved her spear and leaped over the ice path, Soryu, who had turned into a blizzard, surrounded the forbidden weapon and pulled up his magical power.

Even if he returned to human form now and grabbed the forbidden weapon, he would only be caught by Peisha, who was following close behind.

Soryu’s mental power was also greatly depleted while using the ice artifact. Here, he had to set the stage and entrust the rest to others.

Ice-type bloodline ability

Snow River White Command (雪河白令) Full Deployment

[Suppressed Frost Spring (抑位霜泉)]

Whoooosh!!

A cold blizzard surrounded the forbidden weapon and raged, freezing the entire sky above.

An extreme ultra-low temperature that suppressed not only heat but even the movement of particles.

The movement of the Sutra, which had been rapidly teleporting around the temple, began to slow down little by little.

Pat, pat!!

The shape of Sutra, which had been moving so fast that it was barely visible, became clear enough to be seen with the naked eye.

[Maiya…!!]

“I’m going.”

Soryu’s voice, which was scattering intense cold and freezing the surrounding air, trembled.

Responding to Soryu, Maiya, who had leaped tens of meters into the air, landed in front of the forbidden weapon in an instant.

The moment Maiya fearlessly grabbed the gauntlet and tried to leap above the temple.

“I won’t let you!!!”

Whoooom!!

Felix, who had propelled his body into the air like a catapult, swung his hammer from behind Maiya.

Maiya, noticing the intensifying wind pressure, brought her short sword to the face of the hammer and rotated the blade.

Paaang!!!

A heavy shockwave erupted, but Maiya merely coughed lightly, not even flinching.

A miraculous feat of perfectly deflecting the hammer’s impact with just a short sword in mid-air, without any foothold or support.

It was the pinnacle of skill, virtually perfect in deflecting and absorbing any force applied to her body.

“You’re the mercenary I saw on the pilgrimage. I remember you because of your unique appearance.”

Maiya, who had flipped her body in front of Felix, who had a look of disbelief, muttered weakly.

“Your being here means everything has failed, right?”

“…No!!”

Felix, gritting his teeth, gripped the hammer with both hands, channeling his magic and shouting.

“I’m here to make sure we don’t fail again!!!”

Crack!!

The magic of the ‘Dorae’ [a magical energy source] surged through the hammer’s handle, swirling and striking down at Maiya without hesitation.

Seeing the heavy glow of the approaching hammer, Maiya raised her hand with a pale face.

The same attack pattern. If only the power is increased, there’s no need to change the response.

This time, instead of deflecting Felix’s attack, she just needed to counter it and sever the tendons in his arms.

However, the moment Maiya grabbed the hammer with her short sword, she realized that there was no power in it and her face hardened.

Not a feint or a trick.

A strange feeling of the laws of physics bending, where the impact was not properly felt even though he had given it his all.

This is-

Inner World, Small Universe [a personal dimension or space within one’s mind]

Mind Image Activation

[Impact Transference]

Felix’s powerful attack, which had flowed through Maiya’s body, struck the Sutra [a sacred artifact], which was spinning behind her, sending it flying far away.

Thud!!!

The forbidden weapon, quickly moving away from the temple’s sky and falling towards the ground.

Maiya, realizing that the rapidly spinning Sutra was heading towards Lenok and Ermong, who were facing off on the ground, turned her gaze with annoyance.

“You had a hidden talent. A small universe…!!!”

“It’s not a very helpful ability in a fight against a strong opponent like you.”

Felix nodded with a wry smile.

Felix Magat’s small universe, Impact Transference, which he obtained upon reaching level 7.

It was the power to change the location of the impact, but Felix had rarely used this ability in actual combat.

The amount of impact that could be transferred through the power of the small universe was proportional to the amount of magic and will he possessed.

Felix, being a beastkin [a human with animalistic features], did not have a large maximum magic capacity, so the amount of impact he could transfer was not significant.

He had realized that he possessed a small universe that was not specialized for combat, so he had tried to become stronger by manipulating the magic of the ‘Dorae’, hadn’t he?

“Still, if it can be of help to Ban, that’s enough.”

But for now, it was enough to catch the opponent off guard for purposes other than combat.

Felix’s eyes, holding up the hammer, shone with a strong will.

“That forbidden weapon is something that should rightfully belong to the victor who defeated the Anathema [a powerful, evil entity]. It’s a misguided desire for Pandemonium [a state of chaos and disorder].”

* * *

Whoosh!!

The Sutra, which had been hit by Felix’s hammer and bounced off from the temple’s sky, was falling towards Ermong and Lenok.

“The situation has become quite awkward.”

Ermong, buried among the fragments of gravity stones, smiled as he looked at Lenok, who was looking down at him.

“They say that the heavens help those who strive. It seems that this artifact has already chosen me as its master.”

“The ability to so honestly spew out delusions is a talent in itself.”

“No, you know I have a way.”

Ermong said, tapping the gravity stone he was buried in.

The black magician’s eyes, looking at Lenok, flashed sharply for a moment.

“A jewel technique using gravity stones as a catalyst. You still haven’t figured out what it does, have you?”

“……”

“And you, judging by the fact that you’ve been standing there watching since earlier, it seems like you’re running out of energy.”

Ermong said with a smirk.

“After all, it’s absurd to recover completely in just a few days after killing an Anathema. If there were such monsters in the world, how could ordinary people like us live?”

“That’s an item that should be used by a manipulator. Why do you want that weapon?”

Lenok asked, pretending not to know.

“Are you thinking of handing it over to a mage who can use the forbidden weapon?”

“No. Are you crazy?”

Ermong made a dumbfounded expression.

“Why would I give such a precious item to someone else?”

“……”

“If I just grab a mage, teach them magic, and then take over their body, I can use that Sutra too, right?”

Ermong, clutching the gravity stones in both hands, channeled his magic and grinned.

“From the start, why would that masked guy give such a weapon to anyone? I’d rather take it for myself and live the high life- Ugh!!”

Zap!!

The moment Lenok, no longer feeling the need to listen to his nonsense, plunged lightning into Ermong’s mind.

Ermong’s body stiffened like a stone and collapsed. A new Ermong began to run towards the direction where the Sutra was falling.

“Hahaha!! Wait, this time I’m going!”

Ermong, panting like a dog with his tongue out, stretched his hand towards the Sutra.

In the instant that Soryu suppressed the space transfer, the gauntlet was firmly grasped in Ermong’s hands this time.

Thud!!

Something that flew from behind Ermong pierced his chest accurately.

Ermong, looking down at the long staff that had pierced his heart, turned his gaze sharply towards Lenok and burst into laughter.

“Ahaha!! No, no. You can’t kill me like that, how many times do I have to-”

Boom!!

Ermong’s body, holding the forbidden weapon in both hands, stiffened and fell like a corpse on the spot.

“Ugh, ughyagak…”

Ermong’s body convulsed on the spot, trembling.

Lenok, watching Ermong, slowly walked up to his head.

“The ability of the jewel technique that uses gravity stones as a catalyst is not the manipulation of gravity, but the substitution of mass.”

Lenok said, tilting his head towards Ermong.

“Considering the versatility of the ability, it’s probably only applicable to inanimate objects.”

“H, how…”

“I happen to have an artifact with a similar ability.”

Lenok smiled, pulling out the staff, the Compassion of the Archangel, which he had stabbed into Ermong’s body.

“The fact that you were able to use such a technique to nullify death on your body is probably because your body is close to being an inanimate object.”

“……”

“So, if I forcibly heal your body and make it be judged as alive, you won’t be able to use the technique anymore, right?”

The ability of the jewel technique that uses gravity stones as a catalyst is the substitution of mass.

However, substituting the mass of a living human with a gravity stone to nullify death is an extremely difficult task even with the mass technique that Lenok possessed.

Therefore, it could only be interpreted that the technique Ermong was using was established through some kind of trick or difficult conditions.

That’s why Lenok judged that the condition for mass substitution through the technique was only applicable to inanimate objects.

And that Ermong’s body was practically in a state close to a corpse, which was why he was able to substitute the mass of the gravity stone with his body.

The body of Zaun Odis, which Ermong currently occupied, was a body that had once died and was taken by a black magician.

Therefore, instead of killing Ermong, Lenok used the Compassion of the Archangel to heal him and breathe life back into him.

He was certain that Ermong would no longer be able to escape with the jewel technique using gravity stones as a catalyst.

“No…”

Ermong, finally realizing that his technique had been completely broken, cried out in a shrunken voice.

“I’m so unlucky, so unlucky. How can a person be so unlucky…”

“You should say you’re lucky. You should say you’re lucky to have met a kind magician who not only didn’t kill a thief but even healed him.”

Lenok said, turning his back while holding the Compassion of the Archangel.

“It would be annoying if I killed that body and your consciousness stuck to it and you started using the technique again.”

“Ugh…”

“Well, so in the end…”

He turned his gaze towards the Sutra that had fallen in front of Ermong.

“It has come to this.”

Kiiing…!!!

A beautiful, glass-colored gauntlet.

Whether it was a gauntlet, a Sutra, or a glove. Or maybe all of them.

Either way, it was too beautiful to be a forbidden weapon made from humans.

Lenok, silently reaching out his hand towards the Sutra, slowly channeled his magic at that moment.

“Uwaaaak!! Seriously!!”

Suddenly, Ermong convulsed and took out a glittering jewel from his pocket.

“Damn it, how can I live if I hand over such a thing to a monster like you!!”

[Amazonite: Space-Linked Detachment] [a jewel with the power to manipulate space]

At the same time as the dazzling light of the jewel pillar wrapped around the gauntlet and soared, Soryu withdrew his cold air.

The ultimate technique of jewel magic that twists and cuts space, using an extremely rare jewel as a catalyst.

The cold air that had been freezing the atmosphere to suppress it disappeared, and the moment Ermong stimulated the space and caused the forbidden weapon to go berserk.

Paaang!!

The Sutra, which had flashed again in front of Lenok’s nose, was flung far away.

“Ban…!!!”

“Damn it, can’t you keep track of your things properly!!”

“Hehe, is that the possession of the strong…!!”

“Ermong, get ready. This is the last one!!”

Felix, who had bumped shoulders with Maiya, and Peisha, who had fallen through the crumbling ice path, fell.

On the ground, Blood Slave, carrying a blood-red blade, was running as if crawling on the ground, and Soryu, who had returned to his human form, was sprinting with all his might.

Tatatatatang!!!

More than four types of magic and will exploded from all directions, and the shape of the glass-colored gauntlet shook madly.

Ermong, looking at the forbidden weapon that had collided and soared from the center of the collapsing temple, burst into laughter while flipping his body.

“Puhahahat!! Now that it’s all useless, let’s all suffer to our heart’s content!!!”

“I see.”

“…Huh?”

At that moment, Ermong and Soryu simultaneously hardened their expressions at Lenok’s unusually calm reaction.

However, Lenok no longer paid attention to the two of them and was watching the gauntlet falling far away.

After receiving the message from Hairea, and encountering the chaotic battle in the temple, Lenok had been thinking about how to handle this matter.

He had no intention of leaving something he should have through someone’s favor or relying on a deal to others.

If there was something he needed, he would get it himself, create the situation, and make the results himself.

The reason why he used summoning magic multiple times against the members of the chaotic battle was to choose the real target to summon.

The reason why he faced Maiya, who was wearing the forbidden weapon, while forcibly making up for his decreased concentration and reaction.

Even the moment he spread his will domain against Maiya to obscure her sensitive senses.

It was all just a process to reach this moment.

The moment everyone reached out their hands towards the falling glass-colored Sutra, running in different directions.

Someone who had landed at an incredible speed snatched the gauntlet that was spinning in mid-air.

Whoosh!!

At the same time as a pitch-black shadow landed on the ground, a shadow robe was fully unfurled.

As he turned his body, hundreds of magic threads spread out, instantly catching his body.

[A forbidden weapon made by Ars Nova. It’s a pretty good artifact.]

“…!!!!”

A man with an obsidian mask covering his face and pitch-black gloves covering his fingertips.

The man, clutching the gauntlet in one hand, flashed red light from behind his mask.

[I’ll take this.]

Soryu, belatedly recognizing the identity of the opponent, muttered with a dumbfounded face.

“…Victor?”