Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 988

Hellfire Illusion Dome (煥狀穹) [A technique that manipulates hellfire to create illusions and exert force].

As soon as he spoke the technique’s name and activated it, the black-green hellfire began to take shape according to Lenok’s will.

Hwaruruk…!!

The flames, fueled by the blood dripping from his fingertips, spread out between his hands, forming a curved arc.

Lenok gripped the center of the long, curving hellfire, pointing it directly at Roberaide.

“Is that the key to your victory in this fight?”

Roberaide, facing the display head-on, tilted his head.

“It looks as if… you’re holding the flames like a curved bow.”

The black-green flames, coiling around Lenok’s left hand, rose several meters and curved, pointing towards Roberaide.

A terrifying aura emanated, as if he were holding a giant bow made of hellfire and aiming it at the legion commander.

However, even in the face of the sudden, sharp threat, Roberaide remained calm.

“I’ve never heard that Chun-beon [Lenok’s alias] had any talent for archery.”

“There was an outstanding archer among the Watchers,” Lenok replied.

“I learned from her, watching over her shoulder.”

“…Are you talking about Ivelyn Marcia? I am also well aware of the Mystic Bow.”

Clank!!

Roberaide, adjusting his heavy armor and emitting steam, spoke with a glint in his eyes.

“One of the top five archers on the continent. Once the top priority for recruitment by the headquarters and the 1st Legion. There’s no need to even mention her skill.”

“……”

“But even a talented person who has made a name for themselves in the Central Front annihilation battle, teaching someone is a completely different matter.”

The legion commander’s gaze, fixed on the blazing flame bow, deepened.

“No matter how deep your learning is, it’s hard to believe that your arrow will be as sharp as that of the Mystic Bow.”

“That’s right. What I learned from the Mystic Bow wasn’t the Mystic Bow’s archery.”

The moment Lenok, gripping the great bow made of black-green flames, pulled the bowstring.

Jjeojeok…!!

A sinisterly glowing fire arrow extended from his fingertips and was placed on the string.

The mage, holding a flame bow that gleamed with a strange black-green light under the night sky, aimed the arrow.

“The important thing was the inspiration. The very idea of shaping power in the form of archery.”

“……”

“To face the legion commander head-on, it would probably take a considerable amount of time. I’d have to fully preheat the flames I possess to even establish a proper offense and defense.”

Lenok, his face shadowed by the light of the hellfire, muttered.

“But this isn’t that kind of power. It’s a power closer to the backlash of a sorcery that doesn’t follow such logic.”

With the arrow on the string, Lenok slowly tilted his head, openly aiming at Roberaide.

“Especially against a warrior like you.”

“Do you believe you can face me with such a wicked trick?”

Whoosh!

The armor on his right arm tightened, emitting intense steam, and instantly increasing its weight.

Roberaide, lowering his stance deeply, spoke as he crouched down.

“I will teach you how futile that attempt is for a soldier standing on the battlefield.”

Kkiririk…!!

Ignoring his words, Lenok pulled the bowstring and took his stance.

It was obvious who the bowstring of that hellfire flame bow was aimed at.

But no matter how mysterious the technique, once it took the form of a bow, its position would be revealed immediately after firing.

Therefore, even if it meant taking a hit, the best course of action was to kill Lenok decisively.

Wooddeuk!!

Roberaide’s step, with his weight increased several dozen times, shook the earth and crushed the ground, and he swung towards Lenok at an invisible speed.

Bbeoeoeoeong!!!

The shockwave that exploded right in front of Lenok split to both sides of the two people and crossed the horizon. Immediately after that.

Lenok, raising the flame bow horizontally, released the string he had pulled.

Paang!!

The black-green flames, surpassing the limits of perception, ignored the shockwave and pierced the legion commander’s shoulder like lightning.

“…!!!”

Chiiiiik…!!!

The sound of tearing through the air and burning it. A coldness felt before pain.

Not a hot heat, but a chill that seemed to freeze to the bone.

Roberaide’s spine tingled with a sense of unease completely different from the battles so far.

But even knowing that, the legion commander roared and relentlessly drew up his magical power.

“Oooooooo!!!”

Kuuung!!

Without even pulling out the fire arrow embedded in his shoulder, he wrapped his will around it and moved his armor.

Flames that tore through and burned his body did not cause significant damage to the legion commander’s strong physique.

As long as his body moved, his monstrous strength and mental state would not weaken.

Eujik!!

He knocked away the hellfire great bow blocking his path with one hand, and the moment he unleashed his will at full power towards Lenok, who was revealed beyond it.

Roberaide’s fist barely grazed past Lenok, violently sweeping the ground.

Kwaaaang!!!

“Keuk…!!”

Although he avoided a direct hit, Lenok’s figure seemed to be pushed back and slid, unable to completely block the impact.

He held the flame bow in one hand, staggering weakly and barely regaining his balance.

However, Roberaide’s face, looking at Lenok, was more hardened than ever before.

“This is…!!”

Roberaide’s fist was an explosion itself, increasing his weight several dozen times and detonating in a single moment.

Even if it didn’t hit directly, the moment it struck the area, his whole body should have exploded.

But Roberaide’s attack did not kill Lenok, nor did it inflict any significant injury on his body.

It was as if the very foundation of the power wielded by the heavy general had been greatly shaken, and the power had gone awry, creating a sense of unease.

Roberaide, instantly grasping the nature of that unease, roughly grabbed the hellfire arrow embedded in his shoulder.

Chiiik…!!

Ignoring the pain of his hand burning, Roberaide muttered in disbelief as he gripped the fire arrow.

“A sorcery that forcibly manipulates and twists the will…!!!”

Immediately after being pierced by the hellfire arrow, the consumption of will increased dramatically, and the manipulation of the microcosm [A warrior’s inner world where they manipulate their physical abilities] was momentarily distorted.

Because of that, the legion commander’s own weight was not properly achieved, and the amplification of power did not follow.

And Roberaide immediately understood that the reason for the rapid increase in will consumption was the arrow that had pierced his shoulder.

“I can’t believe it. A power that interferes with the target’s will just by making contact exists!!”

“Flame magic seems simple, but it has profound aspects,” Lenok said, leaning against the ignition device and looking up at the legion commander with a smile.

“To generate power, preheating is necessary, but once preheating is completed to a certain level, it starts to devour the caster instead.”

“……”

“To avoid being devoured by the flames you’ve created, you have to have another spark to counter it. The mysteries understood while learning flame magic are forced upon the caster throughout their life.”

Hwarururuk!!

Lenok said, aiming the blazing black-green flame bow at Roberaide again.

“This is the new [spark] ignited by using that very contradiction.”

“…Evan Martinez.”

A type of geas [A magical compulsion or oath] that increases power by revealing magical information.

Roberaide, who instantly grasped what Lenok was doing, focused not on those words, but on the phenomenon he had just experienced.

Roberaide had failed to avoid the hellfire arrow, but conversely, Lenok had also failed to properly withstand the legion commander’s attack.

Was Lenok also experiencing difficulties in manipulating his will while initiating that flame bow?

As if reading Roberaide’s thoughts, Lenok chuckled.

“I don’t think there’s any need to explain further. If you haven’t understood, let’s end it here.”

Kkiririk…!!

As Lenok said that and pulled the string of the flame bow, a fire arrow appeared again, blazing on the bow.

The arrow tip, overflowing with black-green flames, was aimed precisely at the legion commander’s heart.

Roberaide slowly turned his shoulder as he watched that.

‘The consumption of will increased rapidly immediately after being hit by the arrow.’

The legion commander’s gaze, walking out while roughly emitting steam from between his armor, deepened.

‘The presumed ability is the absorption or consumption of will… a sorcery that devours will.’

The warrior’s microcosm is a miracle that forces changes in physical laws within the body through the harmony of will and mental state.

It was natural that the manipulation of the microcosm would go awry at the point where the will was absorbed and the balance with the mental state was broken.

However, interfering with and absorbing or consuming another’s will was an act that placed a tremendous burden on the caster themselves.

Moreover, if the target was a strong person with a firm will and mental state like Roberaide, it goes without saying that its efficiency would be extremely low.

The limit would be to twist the microcosm’s manipulation by catching him off guard, like just now.

“…It’s a pity.”

A low voice flowed from Roberaide’s mouth as he thought that far.

The eyes of the middle-aged man, gleaming from behind his armor, turned towards Lenok’s expressionless face.

“If you were a great mage who turned Vulcan into a sea of fire, I thought you could do more than anyone else in the legion’s future wars.”

“……”

“But if a valiant warrior like you were to join another force, you would surely become a much more dangerous enemy than you are now.”

Ttuduk!!

The moment he lowered his stance and drew up his magical power in place, Roberaide’s will was activated to its limit.

At the same time, the legion commander’s armor continuously emitted steam, and the weight of his body continued to increase.

“To prevent greater losses than the sacrifices the legion has made today, I will settle things neatly here today.”

“Wouldn’t it be okay to say such things after the fight is over?”

“No, it would be too late.”

Kugugugu…!!

The air around Roberaide was constantly distorted and twisted, roughly pressing down on the space.

The legion commander, slowly tilting his heavy body forward and bowing his head, muttered as he placed one hand on the ground.

“Because from now until I take your life, there will be no need for any conversation…!!”

Bbeoeoeong!!

At the same time as a circular ripple exploded, Roberaide’s figure disappeared.

The legion commander’s figure, accelerating as if throwing himself forward at full power, surpassed the speed of sound and detonated a shockwave.

Teteoteoteoteong!!!

He crossed hundreds of meters faster than sound, tearing through the air a beat late and emitting a sonic boom.

Flame magic, omitting incantations, hand seals, and chants, began and was completed in front of Roberaide’s eyes at the same time.

[Red Fortress (赤築)]

[Wave Fire Resonance (波火滋響)]

Kwaaaaang!!!!

Lenok and Roberaide’s figures clashed head-on above the surging sea of fire.

Lenok, covered in flames, and the heavy general, emitting steam from his entire body, collided like lightning.

[One-Weight Bullet (鎰自重彈)]

[Great Flame Wheel (太炎輪)]

[Karma Flower (業華)]

Kuhwaaaaak!!!

Blinding beams of fire fell like rain, and waves of lava and pillars of fire surged and struck Roberaide.

“…!!!!”

The heavy general’s figure was thrown back dozens of meters and tumbled across the blazing sea of fire.

Even Roberaide was overwhelmed by the tremendous heat that pressed down on his entire body, melting and damaging his armor.

[Fire Curtain Rain (火簾刺雨)]

[Jura Scatter (朱羅撒)]

Deureureureuk!!

From the other side of the sea of fire, overlapping flames surged, obliterating and erasing everything on the ground.

A terrifying figure, becoming a living fire god, burning the heavens and earth with every breath and step.

The soldiers of the assault unit, who were still alive and wandering the battlefield, struggled in the flames that burned their surroundings.

“N-No!! Save me!!”

“C-Chief of Staff…! What is the Chief of Staff doing?!”

“Look at me, Evan Martinez!!!”

Roberaide, enraged, extended one foot forward and explosively drew up his microcosm.

[Crimson Pull Crush (赫引碎)]

[Red Emission (發紅)]

High-level flame magic that required minimal incantation was fired like a cannonball without any cost or preparation.

He shot it down as if pressing down on the heavy general’s figure, which was tumbling between the sea of fire and the lava lake.

Kugugugugu!!!

“Not yet!!”

But Roberaide also adjusted the direction of the impact on himself, closing the distance and colliding with Lenok again.

He thrust his melting arm through the pillars of fire and swung his fist at Lenok.

Bbeoeoeong!!

The flame stream bent smoothly and received the fist, but the impact pushed Lenok’s figure back through the flames.

He took the brunt of the barrage of flame magic and charged forward, grabbing and extinguishing the flames as they came.

Kwang!!

Roberaide’s eyes, stopping in front of the sun sphere blocking his path, gleamed with terrifying fighting spirit.

He grabbed the fiercely rotating sphere of fire with both hands and tore it open as if ripping it apart.

Tududududuk!!!!

“Haaaap!!!!”

With a roar that seemed to elevate his soul, steam exploded from between his armor, pressing down on his body.

At the same time, the legion commander’s monstrous strength, increased to its limit, scattered like an explosion, shattering the Red Emission (發紅) sun sphere with his bare hands.

Lenok’s figure, unable to withstand the explosive force, was instantly thrown back dozens of meters.

Sswaeaek!!

The mage’s figure, moving away through the split pillars of fire. The black-green great bow (大弓) wrapped around his hand flickered incessantly, emitting a sinister glow.

Roberaide, who was about to immediately pursue him, realized that the arrow that had been on the flame bow’s string had already disappeared from Lenok’s hand. At that moment.

Puk!!

The hellfire arrow, struck from behind the legion commander, pierced through his armor from behind and protruded above his chest.

The cold flames that pierced through the flesh and blood beyond the armor that withstood all sorts of impacts and techniques.

“Oooooooo!!!!”

But Roberaide roared even with the cold heat piercing his chest, and relentlessly drew up his magical power.

‘If the will is absorbed the moment I’m hit by the arrow…!!’

Then he just needed to draw up more will to compensate for the amount absorbed.

Robert Roberaide possessed both the mental fortitude and mental state to make that possible.

For an outstanding warrior, the strength of the mind is proportional to the strength of the body, and for a soldier with conviction, will is like an inexhaustible spring.

He used his weight, increased several dozen times, as a weapon to smash the area as if bombing it. He used the tension of the arrow stuck in his back as propulsion and charged forward.

The legion commander’s weight increased hundreds of times in place, distorting even the surrounding space in an instant.

The moment Roberaide’s figure, leaping forward with all his might, was slammed down on top of Lenok’s head.

[Dragon Descent Strike (龍姓墜)]

Kwaaaaaaaaaaang!!!

A huge crater was created in an area with a radius of several hundred meters, and the ground sank deeply.

The ground cracked and collapsed in all directions, and shockwaves continuously erupted into the sky.

Roberaide’s figure, shaking the earth and plowing the ground like a wave, was embedded in a crater that had been crushed to a depth of several dozen meters.

“Huuu…!!”

The extreme of the mental state, deployed at full power, was difficult for even Roberaide himself, who was equipped with special modified armor, to withstand.

At the point where he increased the gravity on himself by more than several hundred times, the amount of impact falling towards the ground was comparable to a tactical weapon.

It was impossible to withstand a full-range attack that crushed and exploded the space head-on.

Roberaide, who was convinced of that, was about to withdraw his microcosm and stand up when.

Jjeok!!

The crater under Roberaide’s feet began to crack.

The ground could not withstand Roberaide’s weight, which had become extremely heavy, and was collapsing.

Ppajik, ppajik!!

Hot lava flowed out from between the cracks in the ground, which had rapidly increased in size in all directions.

Kuhwaaaak!!

“This…!!”

The lava flowing from under his feet formed a huge crater, and began to engulf the legion commander’s massive body.

The amount of lava erupting from under the ground was considerable, to the point that it could not be understood by simply collapsing the ground a little.

Roberaide, who immediately realized that and turned his gaze, gritted his teeth as he saw the Hwacheon Gang-gwi [A fire turtle summoned beast] breathing slowly in the distance.

“You were using a summoned beast to melt the ground into lava!!”

Immediately after the battle, Roberaide had smashed the fire turtle’s shell and rendered it incapacitated, but even so, the Hwacheon Gang-gwi had not been reverse-summoned from that spot.

It was somehow struggling to stay in place, constantly pouring the lava flowing out instead of blood under the ground.

In the process, the ground of the battlefield where Lenok and Roberaide were fighting weakened, and the entire battlefield had turned into a huge volcano.

Kuhwaaaak…!!!

Now, Roberaide’s figure was slowly sinking, buried in lava up to his neck.

Roberaide immediately tried to cancel his microcosm and shift his weight, but the gravity on his body only continued to increase.

Jjeok, jjeojeok!!

Only then did the legion commander’s expression harden as he understood what was happening to his body.

“This can’t be. My microcosm…!!”

An 8th-level physical ability user. A mental state that transcended the hierarchy and reached its own path.

The microcosm of a warrior who had reached the extreme of mastery was going berserk, beyond Robert Roberaide’s control.

It was not the aftereffect of what Roberaide himself had done.

The legion commander, sensing that, roared with veins popping out of his neck.

“Evan Martinez!!!!”

“You don’t have to shout so loud, I can hear you well,” Lenok replied.

Lenok smiled as he looked down at the legion commander, who was buried in the crater he had created and glaring at him.

“I had a hunch, but you’re really incredibly sturdy. You’re still holding on even after increasing your weight that much?”

“What have you done to my mental state!!”

“You should know, shouldn’t you?” Lenok said, tapping his chest.

“The second arrow I hit you with. You should be able to guess by now.”

“No. Your hellfire is supposed to be a power that forcibly absorbs the will of the target…!!”

Roberaide shouted roughly.

“It’s impossible to interfere with my mental state by absorbing will. Not even to the level of twisting the manipulation, how…!!”

“No. The ability of the Hellfire Illusion Dome is not the power to absorb will.”

“…What?”

“Hellfire is the flame of the negative dimension. In other words, it’s a flame with a negative property.”

Jjeojeok…!!

The legion commander’s gaze, hardened by the chilling sensation that made his whole body tingle, met Lenok’s head-on.

“The ability of the Illusion Dome is the overload of will that forcibly draws out the positive property using the negative property. And in the process of increasing the consumption value through that, finally…”

Lenok said, looking at the legion commander slowly sinking below the ground.

“It becomes possible to forcibly cause even the microcosm to go berserk.”

“…!!”

If it were simply the ability to devour and absorb will, then he could just pour out a stronger will than the amount absorbed.

In the first place, the will of an extreme ability user who has transcended the hierarchy is not greatly affected by actions such as absorption or consumption.

However, the ability of the Hellfire Illusion Dome is the power to forcibly repel and draw out the positive property through the negative property.

It is the very spark of contradiction and repulsion that forcibly draws out and causes the existing property to go berserk.

It was similar to the act of drawing out and amplifying the target’s will, so Roberaide was also late in noticing the essence of that unease.

The microcosm, which had begun to go berserk through the overload of will, had begun to increase its power to the point that even Roberaide himself could not control it.

Kung!!

Roberaide’s body slowly sank through the collapsed crater.

The gravity on his massive body increased dozens or hundreds of times, now pressing down on him so that he could not move.

The lava that filled the crater below became a huge crater, engulfing the legion commander’s body and slowly sinking it below the ground.

“Kkeueueueuek…!!”

The 3rd Legion Commander of the Dead Rise. Heavy General Robert Roberaide.

A fierce general who leads and commands the unit at the forefront of all operations carried out by the 3rd Legion.

Unrealistic monstrous strength and durability. Special modified heavy armor that assists the power of the microcosm. Abundant combat experience gained from surviving numerous battlefields.

But what was killing him in this place was not another strong person or someone else’s technique, but the very microcosm he trusted so much.

“There’s no reason to try to break that bizarrely tough body here.”

Lenok nodded, watching the legion commander self-destructing under the pressure of his own mental state.

“Just die there, crushed by your own weight.”