Chapter 506: Mid-Term Settlement (7)
A brilliant blue explosive flash illuminated the entire theater, brightly lighting the darkness.
Fwoosh!!
A blinding amount of light, far exceeding the limits of normal vision, enough to instantly blind an ordinary person.
Yet, not a single person gathered here averted their gaze from the explosion’s epicenter.
They were aware that the power of the Mana Resonance Incendiary Bomb was extraordinary, and instead wanted to see how long Logier could withstand it.
“The timing was almost perfect.”
“It’s hard to react when he shoves a bomb in using Translocation. Is that a special-attribute spatial manipulation spell?”
“Do you have to just spit it out the moment you detect a foreign substance? Tricky.”
“Of course, I could do it… Not very werewolf-like, being so slow…”
Far from being flustered by Lennok’s explosion, some admired it, while others chided Logier’s slow reaction.
No one here questioned the fact that Logier had been attacked.
Lennok disregarded their reactions and immediately used Translocation once more.
With his understanding of spatial manipulation greatly increased through his battle with Amrita, Lennok was now using the abilities contained within the Compassion of the Archangel as if they were his own.
The deeper he delved into the fundamental concept of manipulating space, the more diverse the derived spells and artifact applications became.
At this rate, perhaps it would even be possible to extract and obtain the Translocation ability itself from the Compassion of the Archangel.
Despite his idle thoughts, Lennok’s mana moved with a swiftness comparable to his will.
Amidst the dazzling flashes, five incendiary bombs spun, erupting with brilliance over Logier’s head, which was being consumed by the flames.
The fading explosion flared up dazzlingly once more, continuously unleashing beams of heat.
Even the other members’ expressions subtly changed at this display.
“…He’s doing it again? If he succeeded in Translocation consecutively, he shouldn’t have any mana left.”
“He still had reserves?”
“He seems a bit off his rocker. Shouldn’t we try to stop him soon?”
“Stop him? The guy who thinks bombs are muzzles?”
KWOOOOSH!!
A localized, designated explosion targeting the spot where Logier stood, compressed the air around him. The mere aftermath caused the surrounding air to heat up and waver.
The dust-covered audience seats swept away like a wave, and the lighting rigs swayed and fell, melting into molten metal.
The flow of light gradually weakened, and as the heat subsided, just as it was about to fade completely…
CRUNCH!!
From the center of the explosion, with a sound like something being chewed and swallowed, the heat was sucked in.
GRIND!!
Logier emerged through the flames, accompanied by a grotesque sound like teeth grinding on metal.
The wolf, still spitting out bluish flames as if the heat hadn’t left his throat, stared with fierce, piercing eyes.
The shattered fragments of a glass case clattered down from between his tightly clenched teeth.
With his mouth pressed shut, Logier, his half-human, half-beast body trembling, suddenly twisted his head and exhaled.
“UWOOOAAH!!!”
KWOOOOSH!!!
Simultaneously, the remaining heat burst from Logier’s mouth, instantly engulfing the theater’s audience seats in a fiery inferno.
“Haa, haa, haaaaa…!!!”
Logier, breathing heavily, pulsed with mana that threatened to burst from his entire body, and the magic circles carved beneath his fur flickered incessantly.
The intent mixed with the mana swirling in his throat resonated, forming a distinct Mind Imprint.
A chilling illusion, as if a massive current of air was swirling around the werewolf.
Logier hadn’t simply endured the heat of the incendiary bomb that detonated in his mouth.
Instead, he had swallowed the heat whole and then expelled it in a direction different from his original body, as if regurgitating it, instantly minimizing the damage.
A harmony of mana and Mind Imprint, a secret technique almost unthinkable to attempt while sane.
Even a mighty beast’s body does not have an esophagus and internal organs that are naturally resilient to such a degree.
If Logier himself wasn’t a monster comparable to Croken Asylus, this ability surely had to be based on a Miniature Universe Mind Imprint.
‘Is it a Mind Imprint related to gluttony or appetite? Or digestion, voracity?’
While Lennok was deep in thought, Logier walked forward, his expression heavily creased.
He spread his legs wide, hunched his back, and rolled his shoulders, glaring at Lennok with sharp, piercing eyes.
“I had a bit of trouble spitting out the heat without it touching my body. Thanks to you, my stomach’s pretty messed up.”
“…”
“But I’m not going to spit out your head after I chew and swallow it.”
The werewolf’s lips stretched into a long, wide grin.
“So, think about it before you start begging.”
“An animal, talking in such an amusing way.”
Lennok chuckled.
“I wonder if you’d survive if I cut out your tongue and shoved an incendiary bomb directly into your stomach.”
“Try it if you can.”
Logier slowly lowered his stance and tilted his head.
“Before I tear your mouth wide open and learn all the secrets it holds.”
A declaration of chilling intensity.
With Logier bringing out his Miniature Universe, a clash was unavoidable.
Lennok stepped forward, warming up a flicker spell and drawing up mana.
In the fleeting moment Logier stretched his mouth open with one hand and circulated mana to sharpen all his senses.
The Doctor, watching from atop the body, opened his mouth.
“It doesn’t matter if you two beat each other up, but would it be alright if you don’t get your settlement then?”
At those words, Logier, who had been madly scattering killing intent, halted his reverse-jointed legs.
“…What?”
“The body’s operation time is about to end. There’s an output limit, so it’s hard to maintain the system for long.”
The Doctor replied casually, shaking his fur-covered body vigorously.
“If it drags on much longer, the settlement itself will become difficult. If that’s fine, then continue. Honestly, I don’t mind watching the fight as is.”
The other members immediately reacted to the Doctor’s words.
“What, is it that time already?!”
“That’s troublesome… Doesn’t it negate the meaning of participating in the settlement…”
“Hehehe, I knew it would come to this from the start. Pathetic fools.”
Disregarding the gloomy laughter of the blood wizard, Lennok asked the Doctor.
“What exactly do you mean by ‘the body’s operation time’?”
“Well, as you’ve probably understood from the explanations so far, this is a computer that handles information from the Old World. There’s a fixed amount of time it can be powered on and its system can operate, and once that’s used up, it needs a power recharge.”
The Doctor patted the crown of the body’s head as he answered.
“Of course, we back up and save information in real-time, but once it stops operating, time is needed until the next settlement.”
Watching Lennok, who didn’t respond, the Doctor chuckled.
“That’s also why it’s not greatly affected by the explosions you’ve set off, you see.”
“…”
He had noticed.
Lennok had just attacked Logier, subtly diverting some of the explosion’s firepower towards the body, observing the reactions of the other members and the Doctor.
If that body was a priceless artifact, the only one of its kind, then the Doctor and the other members would surely react.
It was an attempt to ascertain the infrastructure within the Pandemonium, but the Doctor had uncanny insight into Lennok’s thoughts and subtly issued a warning.
However, instead of responding to the Doctor’s words, Lennok smiled coldly.
“Then it seems it doesn’t matter.”
Lennok instantly shoved another incendiary bomb into Logier’s gaping maw and detonated it.
KWOOOOSH!!!
Bluish flames erupted directly below the body, forming a pillar of light.
“Victor…!!”
“As the Doctor said, there’s no problem with the body’s functions, so go ahead and get your settlement first if you wish.”
Lennok politely extended a hand from within his robe.
“I’ll get in line after I kill this wolf pup.”
At his chilling words, even the other members of Pandemonium clicked their tongues.
“…He’s crazy. Are all special-attribute sorcerers like this?”
“He hasn’t changed much from how I remember him.”
“What, Soryu. You’ve worked with Victor before?”
“Rather than working together…”
While Soryu watched the continuous explosions with an impassive face, Logier burst out from amidst the heat, laughing madly.
“Kwahahahaha!! Alright, let’s go all the way!!”
Far from being intimidated or scared by Lennok’s continuous onslaught, Logier, who actually enjoyed it, was also no ordinary superhuman.
Logier flicked his tongue, drooling, and was about to draw up his mana towards Lennok, opening his maw wide, in that fleeting moment…
“No.”
Maiya moved.
“I’m getting bored.”
Like a passing breeze, she took a step and stood before Logier, placing a hand on the werewolf’s lower jaw.
POW!!
Immediately after, Logier’s body reeled violently as if struck by a powerful punch, scattering blood as he stumbled backward.
A hyperspeed attack whose precise point of impact even Lennok’s cognitive abilities couldn’t pinpoint.
“…!!!”
But Logier, instead of collapsing after abruptly taking Maiya’s preemptive strike, regained his balance on the spot.
“Maiya…!!! What are you doing!!!”
“You’re the one who started the fight, werewolf.”
Maiya, with an impassive face, struck down with her hand once more, and Logier’s crown of the head seemed to split open and dropped heavily.
It was so sharp and precise that even a beast’s intuition found it hard to react properly.
Even Logier, who, in terms of sheer brute force separate from his main Hierarchy, must have long surpassed the limits of Hierarchy, was being toyed with by Maiya’s fingertips.
“So, if you just endure, it’ll end. Isn’t that obvious?”
“Damn it…!!!”
CRUNCH!!
Logier seemed to understand her words, grinding his teeth and grabbing the hand Maiya swung.
Maiya chuckled, her eyes gleaming.
“You grabbed me?”
“…Alright. I can’t ruin the settlement.”
The silver werewolf gradually shrank on the spot, returning to the form of a tattooed human man.
No matter how much Logier wanted to open Lennok’s mouth, he wouldn’t want a situation where the settlement itself was disrupted.
Ultimately, if he continued the fight with Lennok here, he would be the only one to bear the responsibility.
Seeing Logier realize this and back down, suppressing his anger, the Doctor spoke.
“If you took the initiative and still couldn’t break the mask, then it’s over. This isn’t a problem that can be solved without bloodshed, is it?”
“…”
“If there’s still bad blood, it would be best to settle it privately after the settlement is complete.”
“Where else can you find such good entertainment? When the time comes, perhaps we could all watch?”
“Still, I was curious about Victor’s face. What a shame.”
“I’m curious what kind of unique appearance he has that makes him hide his face.”
“Myeong would know, right?”
Even Vernon seemed to lick his lips, regretting not seeing the battle between Victor and Logier.
Far from stopping the clash between the two, there was an overt air of subtle anticipation.
Their actions and words seemed to be driven purely by individual impulses rather than organizational discipline.
Perhaps this was Pandemonium’s unique characteristic.
Once again realizing their excellent behavior, which still showed no sense of cohesion, Lennok slowly dusted off his robe.
“The inability to speak might, as Soryu said, have an entirely different meaning.”
Sabrina, who had been watching the clash between the two with a sullen expression, spoke.
Her words, the first opinion she offered, drew everyone’s attention.
“There are plenty of ways to prohibit speech itself through specific restraints or restrictions. If the situation where he can’t explain the reason is intentional, then it’s not strange.”
“You’re saying he’s under such a restriction, yet he can still say that Amrita died?”
“It happened less than a month ago, didn’t it? If they thought the information would spread soon anyway, it wouldn’t be strange for the restriction on that specific fact to be loosely applied.”
Sabrina added, resting her chin on her hand and deep in thought.
“If the process of Amrita’s death holds more significant meaning than the death itself… wouldn’t that roughly explain what’s happening now?”
“…”
The verbal sorcerer of Pandemonium.
Without any basis or clues, had she already deduced this much just from Lennok’s attitude and actions?
‘Much faster than expected.’
Lennok looked at Sabrina, a strange smile forming beneath his mask.