“An inherent characteristic of the Trait-type is the ability to interfere not only with targets, but with concepts themselves.”
Craaack...!!
...!!
The Conjoining Sorcerer’s gloved hand tightly crushed the hand clasped with Lennok’s.
A monstrous grip, impossible to believe belonged to a doctor wearing surgical robes.
“But restoring a chimera after the spell effect has already ended and returning it to its original state... that is a power unprecedented even to me. The aptitude you possess in the Trait system has already surpassed a level that can be discussed or compared with mine. An 8th-level archmage should have no way of being unaware of that fact...”
The Conjoining Sorcerer’s cold gaze dropped toward the operating table where Lennok stood.
“You could never have remained bound by my Conjoining Spell. You were deceiving me from the beginning.”
A completely unprecedented phenomenon.
A Trait-type chimera that had received Lennok’s blood had returned to being a living human.
Whether it was a power that nullified the spell effect itself or an ability that rewound time, there was no way to know.
Either way, the moment Lennok’s aptitude had far surpassed the standards the Conjoining Sorcerer had assumed, it was obvious he could not be restrained through a spell.
The moment he realized that fact, the Conjoining Sorcerer launched a preemptive strike at Lennok without a shred of hesitation.
A swift and razor-sharp judgment that made it hard to believe he had been diagnosing Lennok only moments ago.
“From this moment onward, I shall confine your movements to this operating room and devote every moment I remain in the Gate to you.”
BANG!!
With a single gesture, the Conjoining Sorcerer slammed Lennok’s arm down onto the operating table.
“Once the second surgery is complete, I will return. Wait here.”
Even after Lennok rose from the table and counterattacked, there was not the slightest disturbance on the Conjoining Sorcerer’s face.
Confidence that he could perfectly control the situation despite this completely unforeseen anomaly.
Yet Lennok, fully aware of that fact, smiled back at him.
“That’s not it.”
“What?”
“The reason you can’t touch me right now had nothing to do with the surgery from the beginning.”
Whoosh!!
At that moment, Lennok’s figure vanished from sight as if erased from the air.
He cast two Blinks, changed direction, and landed behind him in an instant.
Clank!!
The Conjoining Sorcerer immediately raised his mana and turned around.
The moment he did, his hand collided with Lennok’s again as if they were clasping hands once more.
Booooom!!
Lennok’s calm gaze remained fixed on the Conjoining Sorcerer’s gloved hand.
“The clue existed from the beginning. It was practically the same as hearing the answer from your own mouth.”
“Nonsense...!!”
Mana exploded together with the eerie reply.
Lennok’s body was hurled across the operating room.
BANG!!
Medicine shelves and surgical equipment collapsed over him with a deafening crash.
Yet the Conjoining Sorcerer’s expression was even stiffer than Lennok’s.
“...This.”
Thunk!!
A syringe filled with Lennok’s blood had somehow become lodged in the Conjoining Sorcerer’s shoulder.
“I asked you earlier about the Physician’s Oath. Do you remember?”
Lennok rose after embedding the ampoule of blood into the Conjoining Sorcerer’s body.
“I asked what it meant that a doctor who had sworn the Physician’s Oath could examine my body to this extent and still refuse treatment. You never answered that question. More precisely, you couldn’t.”
Lennok began walking toward the Conjoining Sorcerer, who was clutching his shoulder with his head lowered.
“Come to think of it, you never used the Conjoining Spell even once while diagnosing me. You talked about chromosome modification and hormone adjustment, but remained completely silent regarding treatment through your spell.”
Pulling aside the surgical robe and examining the puncture wound, Lennok smiled coldly.
“You acted as though treating me wasn’t something you could decide for yourself... and that got me thinking. That perhaps the being standing before me wasn’t actually the Conjoining Sorcerer himself.”
Crack...!!
At the same time, the Conjoining Sorcerer’s body began slowly collapsing.
Lennok’s blood flowed into his body, causing a bizarre ‘restoration’ that seemed to break down his form.
“A clone made from a chimera. A separate body possessing nearly the same medical abilities as the original. There was so little sense of incongruity that I couldn’t be certain until the end...”
Lennok pulled the ampoule from the collapsing shoulder.
“But because it’s only a clone, it can’t use the spell perfectly. That’s why you refrained from using it. If I noticed that awkwardness, your identity as a clone would have been exposed.”
The Conjoining Sorcerer had never personally been here diagnosing Lennok.
Instead, he had created an equivalent clone using a chimera and had it perform the diagnosis.
For someone who had sworn the Physician’s Oath, a patient who had completed examination had to be treated.
Yet the reason the Conjoining Sorcerer could uncover the secrets of Lennok’s body and still refuse treatment—
Was because the one who had examined Lennok was merely a substitute created from a chimera.
“Amazing...”
The Conjoining Sorcerer’s skin cracked like porcelain as he slowly turned his head.
“But too late... the examination data has already been shared inside the database—”
“No.”
Crackle...!!
The surgical equipment shining behind Lennok began sparking and shutting down.
The clone jerked its head up, but Lennok seized him by the collar.
“Did you think I’d simply lie on the operating table and watch?”
BANG!!
Kicking him in the shoulder with enhanced mana, Lennok sent the clone crashing against the operating table.
“The operating room database has already been isolated. It took time because it was a biological network using neural transmission, but I finished in time. The consciousness link between the clone and the original was probably severed from the start, wasn’t it? If you intended to violate the Physician’s Oath, you would have cut the connection to prevent any influence on the original.”
“Haha... hahaha...”
Only then did the clone realize that Lennok had completely taken control of all information in this space.
Looking up at him through fading eyes, the clone spoke.
“I see now why you’re still alive... Were you really walking a tightrope with your own life inside my Life Territory? But it won’t matter. Even if I disappear here, the will shall continue.”
Rustle...
Even as he collapsed into sand, the clone’s eyes remained filled only with interest toward Lennok.
“Even if no information is given... even if there isn’t a single clue... ‘I’ will understand the same thing the moment I see you...”
The chimera clone had not discovered some unique secret that could only be learned here.
Any sorcerer who had reached that level would inevitably feel the same sense of incongruity when facing Lennok.
The clone believed that if only that realization reached the original, it would not matter even if he died here.
The clone smiled faintly at Lennok.
“I’ll be waiting in the afterlife, Evan Martinez.”
Whoosh!!
With those final words, the clone turned into a handful of sand and disappeared.
“An afterlife...”
A rather unexpected final remark.
Even a mere clone had perhaps already transcended humanity through willpower alone.
Breaking off his thoughts, Lennok turned toward the trembling man nearby.
The former chimera had briefly returned to humanity, only to crumble away moments later, revealing that he had already died long ago when he was transformed.
Following the dying man’s directions, Lennok entered the ward beyond the operating room.
There he found an emaciated white-haired old man lying on a bed.
“...You.”
His body was withered, his complexion deathly pale.
Yet despite his condition, a terrifying pressure still lingered in his eyes.
Lennok knew exactly who he was.
“Yanikus Barbaria.”
Taking out the tank containing Mikal Zellich’s brain from subspace, Lennok spoke.
“So you were the high-ranking Watcher who had reserved surgery with the Conjoining Sorcerer.”
The tyrant ruler of Kaishu.
An 8th-level physical ability user.
An ancient monster weakened by chronic illness.
And the new Watcher recruited into the Eyes of the Blue through Gapseon Dreyfus’s proposal.
The conversation that followed confirmed Lennok’s suspicions.
Yanikus had indeed undergone surgery, yet not a brain transplant.
After questioning him and reviewing the operating room footage, Lennok finally understood everything.
The other patient scheduled for surgery with the Conjoining Sorcerer had been the Lord of the Blaiver Magic Tower.
The strange behavior the tower lord had displayed in the black market suddenly made sense.
His caution toward the Conjoining Sorcerer.
His unusually submissive attitude.
His willingness to yield the Gate’s administrator position.
All of it stemmed from the fact that he was the Conjoining Sorcerer’s patient.
Watching the footage, Lennok observed the Conjoining Sorcerer performing surgery on the tower lord.
The operation was horrifying beyond belief.
Blood vessels were extracted and cleaned while the patient remained alive.
Ash-like residue burned inside the vessels, remnants of the injuries the tower lord had suffered in Vulcan during his battle against Bolt.
Yet what astonished Lennok was not the injury.
It was the Conjoining Sorcerer’s skill.
A level that could only be called miraculous.
Disassembling a living human body while keeping the patient alive.
A feat that seemed impossible for any ordinary human.
Even without using his spell, the Conjoining Sorcerer maintained the tower lord’s life while performing flawless surgery.
Proof of unparalleled medical knowledge, dexterity, and surgical ability.
“Good.”
Confirming that the Conjoining Sorcerer had completely immersed himself in the operation, Lennok turned away without hesitation.
“We move now. This is our only chance.”
The clone’s information had not yet reached the original.
Because the connection had been deliberately severed.
At this exact moment, while the Conjoining Sorcerer remained unaware and focused on the second surgery, Lennok had a single opportunity to obtain the fragment of the curtain.
He left behind a potion for Yanikus Barbaria.
“Take it.”
“What exactly are you planning?”
“A tonic that restores the condition of a physical ability user. A liquid created from mana and elixirs.”
“I don’t need it.”
“No. Keep it. I’m not giving it to you because I want you to live.”
Lennok looked down at him coldly.
“If the number of Watchers decreases any further, it’ll become a burden on Lapis.”
Yanikus stared at him in surprise.
“Ridiculous. Even after leaving the Eyes of the Blue, you still care about the Lighthouse Keeper?”
“That’s enough talking. When I give the signal, drink it and run.”
Turning away, Lennok added:
“Live. You didn’t undergo surgery just to die here.”
After a long silence, Yanikus finally grabbed the bottle.
“What kind of signal do you intend to give?”
“You’ll understand immediately.”
Lennok chuckled and left the ward.
Between his slowly opening fingers, blazing flames flickered.
“Because the moment I finish what I came here for, I’m going to blow this disgusting operating room to pieces.”