Island of Wisdom (10)
Lukna frantically searched for the Holy Sword.
“Hi Visbi! Tell me right now how to neutralize the Archsage’s poison!”
「I’m sorry, Master. The poison has been confirmed to be a deadly toxin created by a dark mage and has already spread throughout the body. The probability of successfully neutralizing it is below 10%.」
“I can’t just stand by and watch. Even if the odds are low, I’ll find a way.”
「There’s a mandragora root in the library on the second floor of the laboratory. If you combine it with holy power and the love directed toward the poisoned person, an antidote can be made.」
Lukna recalled the dream from earlier.
It had said something about infusing your feelings through contact, a kiss, or even blood or bodily fluids, into the poisoned person.
「If the Master is the successor of Saint Closset, the success rate of the antidote drastically increases. Time remaining until Archsage Kuran’s predicted death: 5 minutes 8 seconds.」
The countdown had begun.
Only five minutes left? Lukna hurriedly ran upstairs to the library and searched.
The item was not hard to find.
The mandragora root sat in a clear alcohol jar as if it were some kind of ginseng liquor.
A small note, which had likely been stuck to the bottle, had fallen underneath: “Drink when the fool gets ten patents.” The jar was already empty.
Next to a bottle labeled “fever elixir for when the fool is ill” was a smaller bottle with a note: “Deadly giant spider venom requested by the fool. Almost died trying to extract it.”
Lukna’s nose twitched slightly at the memory.
“You really grew up loved, Bolton.”
But there was no time to linger on sentimentality. Lukna quickly took out the mandragora root and, with the Holy Sword’s help, began the preparation.
The white holy energy enveloped the mandragora root, instantly transforming it into a finely minced, ginger-like form.
Lukna cupped it in her hand, descended to the first floor, and squeezed the juice into Archsage Kuran’s mouth, who was collapsed on the floor.
“Ugh…”
Kuran’s Adam’s apple moved slowly as he swallowed the mandragora juice infused with holy power.
「Time remaining: 30 seconds.」
Now I need to infuse it with love!
No matter how much Lukna wanted to, she couldn’t just “love” the Archsage in one day.
She needed someone who truly loved him right now.
“Right… Bolton!”
If she could get that kid to shed some tears, she could send that love-infused essence to the Archsage.
「Time remaining: 25 seconds.」
No matter how she thought, there was no way to bring Bolton here within 20 seconds.
「Time remaining: 20 seconds.」
No, please!
Lukna flung open the laboratory door. The countdown had ended.
“Eh, fool?”
Perfect timing—Bolton was standing right in front of her.
Thank you, God.
The prayer escaped her lips instinctively. Martian was there too, but she had no time to care about him.
How many seconds? Around 15 left, I think.
“Why are you in the Master’s lab? Your expression… huh?”
Lukna grabbed Bolton’s wrist and pulled him quickly in front of Kuran.
12 seconds.
“Ma-Master?”
Bolton, seeing Kuran collapsed, panicked and pressed his ear to the Archsage’s chest.
Tears began welling in his one remaining eye.
10 seconds.
“Sorry, Bolton.”
Lukna slapped Bolton’s cheek. The tears pooled at the corner of his eye and fell.
“Ugh! What are you doing all of a sudden?”
5 seconds. Please.
Lukna dipped her fingertip in the tears and poured them into the Archsage’s mouth. Did it go in properly?
“What on earth are you doing, fool!”
Bolton grabbed her wrist, trying to stop her.
3 seconds.
At that moment, Martian’s hand appeared and twisted Bolton’s wrist.
2 seconds.
Argh! Bolton, in pain, let go of Lukna’s wrist.
1 second.
Lukna swept her fingers across the wet corner of Bolton’s eye and…
0 seconds. Done.
The tears went into Kuran’s mouth.
Was that too little? What if it doesn’t work? Her hands trembled nervously.
“What are you doing! Stop it!”
Bolton shook her shoulders angrily. Lukna’s body wavered, but she was lost in concentration, eyes shut tightly.
Guilt weighed heavily on her—what if she couldn’t save the Archsage?
Cough!
Kuran, lying pale and ashen, coughed. A thick, black liquid oozed from his mouth.
Lukna immediately knelt and wiped it away.
It wriggled like a living slime, stretching upward in her hand.
Looks just like a live octopus.
She gripped it tightly, restraining it. It struggled, trying to escape her hand.
Without Martian, she could have purified it with the Holy Sword’s energy, but now there was no other way.
Martian approached, taking a leather bracelet from his pocket and kneeled to meet her gaze.
That’s the same relic Martian gave me.
She checked her wrist. Huh? The wrist that should have worn the bracelet was bare. When had it gone missing?
“Chad has it.”
Martian seemed to read her thoughts. Chad, that sneaky guy! He must have taken it during the confrontation with the terrorists.
“You said you didn’t need it, so did you swap it?”
Martian gestured at the red string poking out of her pants pocket.
It looked like a bracelet, infused with Chad’s magic.
“N-No, it’s not like that. Really. I didn’t even notice it was gone.”
Lukna shook her head.
Martian, inspecting her like a lie detector, carefully fastened the bracelet back onto her wrist.
“Don’t lose it. And watch out for thieves.”
“Okay.”
Lukna nodded firmly. She hadn’t done anything wrong, yet oddly felt guilty. That was probably why the bracelet felt so heavy, like handcuffs.
“Now, purify it as we learned in the holy power lecture.”
“Y-Yes.”
Lukna nodded again, drawing holy energy from the bracelet. She focused on using it to eliminate the writhing poison in her hand.
The energy flowed from the bracelet through her hands, amplifying as it spread, filling the laboratory with white light.
“Uh? Uh, Visbi? Martian is watching, you know—don’t start doing this suddenly!”
“Ah! My precious eye!”
Bolton shielded his one remaining eye from the overwhelming light.
The black poison in her hand was purified, yet the holy energy didn’t seem to decrease.
Enough, Visbi!
Lukna scolded the Holy Sword, but the light continued unabated.
Unlike when she borrowed the sword’s power before, this time she felt energy radiating from her own center.
Could it be that recovering my memories allows me to channel holy energy myself?
It was great news, but not a time to celebrate.
Lukna glanced at Martian and tried to regulate the energy.
“W-Why is this happening?”
She held her breath and clenched her fist, but the holy energy raged on.
Martian placed his hand on her shoulder.
“……!”
The moment he touched her, the energy flowed into him, and she felt their power become one.
Her heart dropped.
The massive darkness that had pressed like iron on her hands—the poison, or something even heavier—pressed down on her shoulders.
This must be the demon shard lodged in Martian’s heart.
Still, the sensation helped her properly harness the holy energy.
As soon as the situation settled, Martian quickly withdrew his hand.
When the dark energy from the Black Mage had permeated him at the central tower, his condition had been poor.
But the moment I touched Lukna, all the discomfort vanished.
A refreshing sensation swept through his body, almost making him feel like flying.
If he hadn’t withdrawn his hand, he might have kept touching her to feel the power more.
“Lukna, what is… this?”
Martian clenched his fists, suppressing his desire to touch her thin neck, wrists, and shoulders.
“Thanks for the bracelet. It’s amazing.”
Lukna cut him off and stood up.
Her legs wobbled from tension, but she braced her abdomen and followed Bolton, who was supporting the Archsage, out of the lab.
Fritz was anxiously immersed in experiments, occasionally glancing over his shoulder.
A dark-skinned woman stood with her arms crossed, monitoring him.
Damn it, after everything’s been set in motion, if I fail here, I’m dead.
He flipped through a well-worn experiment log. The neat handwriting belonged to his wife, Gale.
“Fritz, you know you’re the final hope for this plan, right?”
“W-Watch your tone. Call me Alchemist Fritz.”
“Haha, pride. Everyone on this island thinks we’re lovers, yet you’re putting up such walls?”
“Shut up. I have to control every variable.”
“Sensitive, huh? We’ve had our hot moments, remember?”
“Those were your cheap tricks to blackmail me…!”
Damn it. Yes, it’s all my fault.
Fritz took several deep breaths as he carefully combined the substances in the test tubes.
If I complete this, Gale will come back to me. Everyone will admire me as the Archsage.
He had been attempting to make the Golden Elixir for over a decade, referring to the experiment notes left by Gale.
After facing numerous limits, he even dabbled in forbidden dark magic, eventually becoming the Red Eagle.
With the Red Eagle’s support, he grew into a successful alchemist and even became an Elder Priest within their ranks.
But rank within the Red Eagle didn’t matter to him.
His ultimate goal was not to be a dark mage—it was to become the Archsage.
