Chapter 517: The Sniper’s True Worth (7)

Bloat, bloat, bloat!!

Logier’s features contorted wildly, swelling as if they would tear themselves from his face.

At the same time, the Mind Imprint, which had been in harmony with the mana filling his interior, crumbled and backflowed as if a lie.

Grrrrumble!!!

Like food that refused to be digested and was climbing back up the esophagus, every cell in his body exploded, rupturing and scattering out through his skin.

All the achievements he thought he had absorbed, consumed, and digested by devouring the mana user, were now vanishing like a lie at Lennok’s single word.

The loss of power, like sand slipping rapidly through his fingers.

“Haaah…!!!”

The werewolf’s enormously bloated body instantly shriveled, and the glossy black fur turned into a shabby, ashen grey.

Logier, making a pathetic sound as if he had lost decades worth of vitality at once, crawled on all fours before Lennok, then collapsed.

A horrifying sensation, as if a tumor inside his body was draining all his vitality and mana.

Logier twisted his body, screaming desperately.

“No, no…!!! This can’t be…!!!”

“It’s worth questioning, isn’t it? Don’t you think so, Werewolf?”

As the shadow robe slowly rose, an obsidian mask emerged, and a smooth finger adjusted the mask.

Beyond the mask, slightly tilted as if looking down at Logier, the wizard’s eyes glowed coldly.

“Why it was so easy to seize mana from a wizard. Why it was so effortless to digest mana users within your Miniature Universe.”

Lennok gripped the werewolf’s head, lifted him, and murmured.

“You were agitated. Disturbed. Drunk on an awakening that didn’t suit you, you forgot to weigh the situation, front or back.”

“I’ll kill… kill you…!!”

CRACK!!

Lennok bound Logier’s snout tightly with mana threads, then slammed him into the ground and said,

“In that regard, you are indeed nothing more or less than a beast.”

The mana Lennok had supposedly consumed and digested had, from the very beginning, never for a single moment left his control.

How could Lennok’s mana, who possessed a transcendent aptitude for mana manipulation and control, possibly be devoured by someone’s Miniature Universe?

The reason Lennok waited, even though he could have shattered Logier’s body the moment Logier activated his Miniature Universe, was because Lennok desired something more valuable than Logier’s death.

“Thanks to your voracious chewing and swallowing of mana, I can feel the deepest part of your Mind Imprint as if it’s in my hands.”

As Lennok spoke, a stream of pitch-black light was already flowing like mist from the right eye of his mask.

“As if I could just pull it up and observe all those memories and impressions.”

A new ability of the right Mystic Eye: instead of suppressing the opponent’s power, it conversely causes it to run rampant and break down.

Lennok utilized the same ability he used when destroying Amrita’s Sanctuary, Submerged Moonlight, to cause Logier’s Mind Imprint to run wild, extracting all the memories contained within it.

“A mole with ties to both Pandemonium and Aegis. You overestimated yourself and ended up like this, but…”

Lennok chuckled.

“Still, you probably know a little more than others. I’ll take all that memory and knowledge from you, without leaving anything behind.”

“You son of a bitch, you played me from the start…!!!”

Only then did Logier realize that the battle just now had been a deliberately orchestrated play. He glared at Lennok with bloodshot eyes.

But Lennok, as if anticipating Logier’s reaction, averted his gaze and lowered his head.

“You asked earlier why I didn’t immediately inform The Doctor once I figured out your identity. The answer is simple.”

Lennok leaned close to Logier’s ear and whispered quietly.

“I’m just like you.”

“…!!!!!!!”

The final trigger, meant to completely shake the opponent’s thoughts and Mind Imprint, and exploit their vulnerability.

The moment Logier’s eyes widened, about to scream something out.

Lennok thrust a mana thread directly into the werewolf’s glabella.

A single current, passing through the mana thread, instantly pierced Logier’s mind, forcibly shutting down his consciousness.

ZZZT!!

“Logier is a mole?”

[To be precise, a double agent? A double spy, perhaps? Probably something like that.]

Over the communicator, The Doctor’s words made Maiya frown deeply.

“I don’t understand.”

[If you look at his actions, you can pretty much guess. If he were truly on one side, his movements wouldn’t be so ambiguous. It’s the typical behavior of someone weighing their gains.]

“No, not that… what good would such a thing do him?”

Maiya said, looking around the satellite city shrouded in darkness.

“Is there even any gain to be had from being a mole in this organization?”

Pandemonium doesn’t hide most of the plans they execute.

They don’t deny the fruits of destruction, murder, crime, and chaos that occur in the process.

Pandemonium, which started as a criminal organization and has never strayed from its essence.

How meaningless it would be to infiltrate Pandemonium just to steal information.

Although Maiya cooperated with Pandemonium for her own objectives, she already fully understood the organization’s methods and essence.

If there was truly information or a plan that absolutely shouldn’t be known, it was handled by monsters like the Director or Myeong, with only the results being shared.

Hadn’t even the operation at the Well of the Codex been so exposed that other organizations knew its beginning and progress?

It was the same here.

No matter how deep one infiltrated, the information that could be known from inside could also be known from outside, and information that couldn’t be known couldn’t be known even in death.

Maiya herself wasn’t even certain of the organization’s true nature yet, so what could Logier gain by taking such risks?

But The Doctor, hearing Maiya’s words, laughed loudly as if amused.

[I didn’t expect such naive words from you. Perhaps it’s because you never even considered such a possibility?]

“What?”

[He wasn’t trying to steal Pandemonium’s information for profit. It’s closer to him borrowing external power to participate in the reckoning.]

The Doctor whispered leisurely through Maiya’s earpiece.

[A special agency, Aegis, wasn’t it? What if he borrowed their power to obtain an Old World artifact to participate in the reckoning, and in return, leaked information about the reckoning?]

The Doctor continued, as if the mere thought of it was fascinating.

[Think about it. If Logier were truly on the side of either Aegis or Pandemonium, why didn’t he take any action when the conflict broke out?]

“….”

[Rather than trying to gain some special advantage there, he was actually focusing on subtly extracting himself.]

Click, click.

Amidst the unknown mechanical sounds coming through the earpiece, The Doctor’s voice resonated.

[If he thought participating in the reckoning itself was an advantage and didn’t want to ruin the occasion, that could explain all his ambiguous actions.]

“He thought participating in the reckoning itself was an advantage?”

Maiya immediately chuckled sharply at those words.

“That’s absurd. Doesn’t he even know the true nature of the operation?”

[Unlikely. Logier would know what kind of possibilities the Director is considering. No mere commoner with such a dull mind could possibly act as a mole.]

“Then?”

[He was merely a pathetic beast, unable to resist the prey dangling before his eyes, even knowing what it meant.]

The Doctor’s reply was tinged with a faint mockery.

[Demi-humans, ultimately, can’t help it. With very few exceptions, they all harbor untamable bestial natures. That instinct eventually becomes the teeth that stab their own necks.]

“….”

[Personally, I find that imperfection very attractive, and I believe it’s a species trait that should be preserved as a precious specimen, but…]

Even as The Doctor spoke, unknown sounds resonated rhythmically over the communicator.

[Alright. The spell recoil adjustment is mostly done… The information that the Apostle spell was sealed is an important matter for us as well. Victor did a great job this time.]

“He’s a dangerous man. He knew Logier was targeting him, yet he never panicked or gave any indication.”

Maiya replied, starting to walk down the deserted street.

“Only someone extremely accustomed to such situations could react like that. If Logier had pursued him, the outcome would have been obvious.”

[Haha, you’re not wrong. Just looking at the information he requested during this reckoning, it’s clear he knows far more than we thought.]

The Doctor laughed.

[It means there’s a reason he joined right after Myeong’s recommendation and participated in the Well operation. Agneta’s message, too, it’s very intriguing…]

“Intriguing?”

[Wouldn’t it be more interesting to keep a friend who still has many secrets, rather than a werewolf whose true colors have been revealed?]

“….”

CRACKLE, CRACKLE…!!

As Maiya walked, the communication with The Doctor began to break up slightly.

Even predicting that the communication would completely cut off soon, the two didn’t stop talking.

[In any case, the causal adjustment needed from this reckoning has been gathered sufficiently. It seems we can make a move next time.]

“I’m not interested.”

[Perhaps the Machine City, which you so desire, might be among the candidates.]

Maiya stopped in her tracks the moment she heard that.

The Doctor, understanding her feelings, added in a cheerful voice.

[It means we might be able to re-enact the failed Ascension Gate project with our own hands. Aren’t you very interested?]

“You, now…”

[Of course, its purpose would be completely different from what the Machine City pursued, but you might reach the goal you’ve been searching for.]

The voice from beyond the communicator faded.

Maiya instinctively reached for the earpiece she had in her ear, but The Doctor didn’t wait for her.

[Whether the failure of the Ascension Gate was truly accidental, or if it held a deeper meaning. I hope you can confirm it yourself next time.]

The communication cut off without even a farewell.

Maiya, who had kept her hand on the earpiece for a long time, eventually removed it without hesitation and casually stepped on it, crushing it.

CRUNCH!!

The Doctor was not someone who would contact her through the same communicator just to convey useless information.

Considering that, the earpiece given to her had completely served its purpose at this point.

It was nothing more than useless baggage, considering what she had to do now.

Maiya thought so, slowly turning her gaze.

Through the dark streets of the satellite city, an endless, thick fog had gathered.

Swoosh…!!

The interruption of communication with The Doctor wasn’t simply a communicator issue.

The overwhelming presence emanating from ahead was severing all flows in the vicinity, forcing only disconnection.

Lennok thought Maiya was staying to keep Evelyn in check, based on his experience in the Hanghasa Labyrinth, but what she was waiting for wasn’t the Divine Bow.

Someone who had not once shown their face until the operation was completely over, only subtly scattering their presence.

One of the two foreign combat forces participating in this operation, a monster whose power was by no means inferior to Evelyn’s.

Maiya had sensed the presence of not only Evelyn but also another superhuman, and had remained in the city, waiting for him.

Because she knew that a decisive confrontation would resolve things far more cleanly than trying to escape him.

WHOOSH!

“I’ve been waiting.”

As the fog cleared, a young man in a pristine white robe appeared.

White hair flowed down from his slightly bowed head, and a pure white spear shaft was casually stuck into his back.

With both hands neatly clasped together, bowing his head towards her with eyes closed, his appearance was impeccably neat.

Yet Maiya could fully perceive the destructive presence emanating from beyond him.

An 8-level extreme ability user. And an uncommon martial artist who wielded a long-handled weapon like a spear.

His elegant form, as if not a single speck of dirt had ever touched his body, shone dazzlingly even in the middle of the night.

His noble mastery, skill, vigor, and peculiar appearance and demeanor. It was difficult to find two such people under the same sky.

Maiya’s lips curved into a sharp smile.

“I had a suspicion, but I never thought you’d lend a hand in an operation like this.”

“Long time no see, Ms. Lonsdale.”

“The lifting of the Prohibition Edict must have been significant. I never thought an old monster who wouldn’t even poke his head out of the city would take a stroll to a satellite city. The world really has changed a lot.”

Called The Unblemished (潔白), for tolerating not a speck of impurity in every living moment.

The power of the light, bound by the Prohibition Edict in the mega-city Vulcan. One of the monsters representing its prestige.

An 8-level extreme ability user and a spear master who had reached the Peak of Grandmastery.

A member of the Turyeonmun (鬪鍊門), which boasted the strongest influence among the martial sects in Vulcan dedicated to cultivating superhumans.

And one of the old monsters who had concurrently served as a Senator in the Vulcan City Government’s Central Council and an internal advisor.

A figure of such magnitude, comparable to Maiya in age, and almost unbelievable to have participated in this operation, stood there.

This revealed how much the City Government had invested to successfully conclude this operation.

But The Unblemished, knowing all this, merely held a pristine white smile.

“Strictly speaking, it’s not because of that. If it were merely to aid the operation, leaving it to that child, Marcia, would be sufficient.”

An age that allowed him to casually refer to Evelyn Marcia in such a diminutive way.

“Then?”

“It’s because of you, Maiya Lonsdale.”

The Unblemished unclasped his hands and took a step forward, naturally extending his arm.

WHIRRR…!!

At the same time, the white spear shaft stuck in his back sprang up as if released, naturally falling into his hand.

It wasn’t merely manipulating the spear with mana; it was a state of mastery where he controlled the will imbued in his beloved weapon as naturally as breathing.

As he smoothly gripped the pristine white spear shaft, a fierce wind pressure erupted from The Unblemished’s body.

WHOOOOSH!!

Holding the spear with both hands and merely twirling it lightly caused the surrounding air to rotate like a windmill, extending in all directions.

Hot frictional heat mingled with the chilly night breeze, raising the temperature of the surroundings.

And the pure white spear master, standing at the center of that heat source, smiled at Maiya.

“How delighted I was to hear that the Machine City’s finest enforcer would appear here.”

“….”

“I consider it fate that we can finish the battle we couldn’t complete back then. You and I are also bound by various restrictions… but tonight, for this one night, we shall be free.”

“It’s useless. I have no interest in past battles…”

Maiya began to say, then stopped and let out a scoff.

Did she, who was obsessed with the past failure of the Ascension Gate, have the right to say such a thing?

It didn’t matter now.

If this old monster, mad for battle, had disregarded the entire operation and waited for her, she had no choice but to give him the minimal respect he deserved.

Maiya sighed, took half a step back, and said,

“Five minutes. Is that acceptable?”

But The Unblemished, as if he had been waiting for that very question, smiled radiantly.

“More than enough.”

From the darkness, a pure white will rose and stood tall like a colossal pillar.

CRASHHHH!!!

“…It’s noisy over there too.”

Lennok glanced aside, witnessing the colossal white pillar erupting into the night sky.

A collision of mana beyond regulation, difficult even for Lennok to casually assess.

It must undoubtedly be the battle between Maiya and one of the foreign combat forces who had yet to appear.

There was no knowing why Maiya was still there, handling things, but Lennok had no time to spare attention on that.

Lennok pulled his hand out of Logier’s mouth, which was rolling his eyes and completely limp, then stood up.

In Lennok’s glove, soaked with saliva, was a pitch-black crystal ball.

The Idol’s eyeball, distributed to him in order by The Doctor’s command.

Lennok had used the crystal ball Logier possessed as a vessel to contain Logier’s overflowing memories.

He had primarily collected intense memories accumulated recently in his Mind Imprint, so by calmly investigating them later, he would surely find useful memories or information among them.

“It finished faster than I expected. Shaking him up on purpose at the end helped.”

Without such a shock, it would have been difficult to deal with Logier so quickly.

Lennok briefly reviewed what he had done, then cleanly shook his head.

A mole with ties to both Aegis and Pandemonium.

A double agent whom no one would suspect, even if he were caught up in a situation and disappeared.

That’s why Lennok had entered the battle from the beginning with the intention of extracting information from both Pandemonium and Aegis through him.

The man had worked for Pandemonium longer than Lennok, and was clearly an executive-level asset who had contributed to training Aegis agents to some extent.

There was a very high probability that he possessed useful information for both organizations, in any capacity.

Lennok, realizing this as soon as he suspected Logier’s presence, had planned to secure one last major harvest at the end of this interim reckoning.

“All that’s left is fine-tuning. Shall I finish it after getting out of Bailuts first?”

Since he couldn’t tell if the crystal ball contained the desired memories, he needed to compare them directly with Logier’s memories to confirm.

There was still a little work left to do before killing Logier immediately.

CLANG, CLANG!!

Looking up at another train approaching from the opposite side, he untied the mana threads and bound Logier’s unconscious body.

[Still, it’s a relief we made it just in time.]

“His reaction was too good, better than expected. I almost missed the timing.”

Lennok said, looking back at Logier’s unconscious body.

The unconscious werewolf’s body was shrinking, changing back into human form.

Davi watched the sight with a curious expression.

[I once read a thesis that demi-humans are, on average, closer to humans than beasts, and it seems to be true.]

“Otherwise, he wouldn’t have transformed into a stronger wolf form when he digested my mana, would he?”

Lennok replied, rubbing his aching body.

“Because he’s closer to human, conversely, the form he desired was closer to a powerful beast. I don’t know if Logier himself realized that…”

The fact that he reached this level without thoroughly refining his own talent itself proved how outstanding Logier’s potential was.

Conversely, it also made him easy to exploit by an opponent who could discern that gap.

All that remained was to hide until the painkiller wore off, recover his condition, and return to Vulcan.

His body was already extremely fatigued from multiple battles after being injured in the fight with Amrita.

As Lennok was thinking whether he should try to catch some sleep once he got on the train, and turned his head towards the newly arrived train.

His gaze met a flashing green light.

“….”

[….]

CLACK, CLACK!!

On the rapidly passing train, someone covered in a pitch-black suit was standing on the roof, looking down at him.

A thick visor pulled up to the bridge of their nose. A black-green suit covering their entire body. Ebony hair swaying with the cold night wind.

The attire was similar to that of Aegis agents, yet the aura emanating from their body was on a fundamentally different, much higher level.

A faint life signature, so subtle that he couldn’t perceive its presence even while looking directly at it.

Yet, an unknown, chilling coldness that approached without restraint.

The gaze of a hunter, completely different from the one directed at Lennok, emotionless and utterly cold.

Receiving the archer’s gaze, which seemed to be calmly observing an enemy, Lennok murmured inadvertently.

“This wasn’t in the plan…”