#512

The True Worth of the Sniper (5)

Lennok asked a low question, but the visor-wearer merely scoffed.

[Ha, I wondered what nonsense you'd come up with this time...]

As soon as the visor-wearer crouched down, the coupling of the train was sliced apart, twisting the passenger compartment diagonally.

Shnk!!

[If you think you can buy time by babbling nonsense, you're sorely mistaken!!!]

The collapsing passenger compartment. Amidst the scattered seats and cargo fragments, a dazzling burst of light exploded.

Lennok spun in place, using his mana threads to grab, push, and pull everything around him.

The visor-wearer was sprinting, continuously unleashing different spells with his heated forearms.

The spinning trajectory of threads and the linear flashes intertwined endlessly, cutting and bursting apart.

Ratatatata!!!

Lennok, with shields wrapped around his limbs, staggered to avoid the barrage of spells and strikes, while simultaneously flinging mana threads in all directions.

An awkward movement, involving ducking his head and twisting his shoulders.

However, the lethal waves narrowly brushing past his eyes, neck, collarbone, and joints were no illusion.

This close-quarters combat, occurring within the confined space of the train, was unfamiliar to Lennok.

He pulled the mana threads with his will, manipulating his limbs, and used his moving body to control the threads, crushing the attacks erupting from all directions.

Threads unraveling beneath his feet ensnared the visor-wearer's kicks, and several strands spinning from his back yanked tight, slicing flesh.

Swick!!

A checkered net emerged from Lennok’s fingertips, splitting the spells coming from the front.

He caught the floating debris and lingering mana resonance with the ends of the threads, pulling as if turning a pulley.

Drawing lines on barely visible mana threads, he traced endless parallel lines above the murderous intent grazing his nose.

In an instant, the raging mana currents collided and faded dozens of times.

By the time his senses recognized and reacted, it was already too late.

Close combat against a superhuman above Saint level far exceeded the reach of human senses and intuition.

Confirming with mana detection, Lennok made predictive gambits, adjusting his balance and flipping the situation to seize control with near-prophetic moves.

This was a complex yet precise tightrope walk that Lennok had never failed, nor could afford to fail.

Whoosh!!

In a flash, two new shapes pierced through the crumbling cabin, extending several times through the train's coupling point.

Dozens of mana threads and flashes surged around, distorting in a chain reaction.

Boom!!

Lennok forcibly numbed his sense of balance, relying solely on mana thread manipulation to maintain his body and engage in combat.

It was as if he were a puppet manipulated by a third party's gaze, setting aside all his senses to charge forward.

Lennok’s body, sprawled across the train seats, spun back as he slid, with the blue-clad Visor in pursuit.

Their mana clashed dozens of times amidst the shredded seat cushions and seats.

Amidst it all, dozens of sharp black arrows narrowly grazed the two at close range.

The impact of the arrows embedded in the ground and car frame twisted the floor, launching them upward from the recoil.

Bang!!

Using the force, Lennok manipulated his body with mana threads like a puppet, slipping through a hole in the ceiling.

However, the visor-wearer, who appeared right behind him, grabbed Lennok’s shadowy hood and slammed him straight into the train wall.

Boom!!

"Ugh…!!"

The two were stuck to the end window of the moving train, glaring at each other.

Though masked with a faceless mask, both could clearly read each other's intent.

[That last move wasn’t bad. You’re much more skilled in combat than I expected.]

Crack!!

The visor-wearer grabbed Lennok by the collar, lifting one of Lennok’s arms and smashing it into the train wall.

With one arm pinned and dangling against the wall, the visor-wearer, with cold eyes, stared down at Lennok.

[But you’re still no match for me.]

“Huff…”

[If you promise to stay still, I might just settle for severing the tendons in your limbs. Swear by Geass to reveal the secret of your technique, and I’ll spare your life.]

Fwoosh!!

The visor-wearer, closing his hand near Lennok’s mask as if ready to shatter it, threatened him.

[If not, know that I can break your skull and carry only your brain away from here.]

"…"

[No answer, then?]

Bang!

[Then you must die.]

The moment Lennok remained silent, the visor-wearer tightened his grip.

The obsidian mask hidden beneath Lennok’s robe shattered into dust.

What emerged from beyond the mask was nothing but an empty void within the hollowed-out robe.

[……!!!!]

Realizing the implications, the visor-wearer’s shoulders flinched, and a calm voice came from above.

“Even a beast’s instincts take time to recognize it, huh?”

Rumble!!!

The train, teetering on the brink of derailment, swayed wildly.

Lennok, now crouching on the roof, looked down at the man clinging to the rear window.

What was left in the visor-wearer’s hand was a mere wisp of shadow.

Lennok, gazing down at the visor-wearer through his intact mask, spoke.

“It seems direct manipulation is still quite clumsy. I’ll need more practice in actual combat.”

He had tried to use mana-thread-enhanced close combat on the fly, but it wasn’t yet battle-ready.

Without enduring the aftereffects of mana intoxication, he’d have to deploy shields to block each collision directly.

This approach wasted a considerable amount of mana and concentration.

The physical impact, endurance issues, and mana-thread control were challenging to handle.

What comes naturally to physical enhancers was still far below standard for Lennok, making it less effective in real combat.

For now, he could only be satisfied with managing not to be overwhelmed by a Saint-level physical enhancer.

The next step was to break the visor-wearer’s mask and confirm Lennok’s hypothesis.

[You bastard, since when…!!!!]

“You still don’t know?”

Lennok sharply cut him off, shaking off the dust as he stood.

“From the very start, of course.”

Screeeech!!!

The train, having lost its balance, shook violently, scattering a deafening noise and sparks everywhere.

As the visor-wearer gritted his teeth and tried to climb up the train wall to attack Lennok again, another train appeared at the adjacent crossing.

It rammed into the visor-wearer’s back, unleashing a massive shockwave.

CRASH!!!

Bones broke and muscles tore with a horrifying sound.

[Aaaaargh!!!]

Yet even that noise was nothing compared to the impact of a train hitting a human.

Lennok extended his mana threads from the crumbling train and boarded the newly arrived one. 

On the roof of the train, a man hung on desperately, coughing up blood.

"Khak…!!"

His limbs, clad in a suit, were soaked with blood, with every joint twisted grotesquely, exposing bones. The blue visor he wore earlier was now shattered into pieces, scattered everywhere.

“Living as an operative in a special agency isn’t easy, is it?” Lennok said with a grin, looking back at the fallen man’s back.

“I can’t even imagine how much you’d have to suppress your senses to act like an ordinary human among humans. What’s it really like?”

“Damn you…!!”

“I haven't worked much with werewolves, so I can't fully grasp how it feels.”

The man’s bare face emerged from the shattered blue visor, revealing a familiar face to Lennok. 

He was a muscular werewolf, his upper body covered in mysterious tattoos, who had previously participated in an interim settlement as a member of Pandemonium. Now, he appeared before Lennok as an operative of Aegis.

Clatter, clatter!

The train shook continuously, causing even the tracks beneath them to wobble. Despite the instability, Lennok and Logia—who had revealed himself—kept their eyes locked in silence, paying no mind to their surroundings.

“So, you already suspected it…” Logia, who had been staring at Lennok, spat out the blood pooled in his mouth and slowly stood up.

Crack, crack!!

As he stood, he reset his joints and snapped his bones back into place while his skin rapidly regenerated.

Wiping the blood off his face, he unzipped and pulled off his suit, then asked, “Since when?”

“I told you, from the very start,” Lennok replied nonchalantly.

“Chevien’s puppeteering ability and Vernon’s behavior made it easy to suspect them, but after eliminating a few suspects, the culprit was almost obvious, wasn’t it?”

“…”

“You’re a powerful physical enhancer yourself, yet you use spells that you normally wouldn’t be able to perform by relying on spell engravings…”

Lennok scratched the edge of his mask and let out a small laugh.

“You’re just like the other Aegis operatives I’ve faced, practically identical.”

“Huff…”

“The reason you covered yourself with a visor and suit is probably similar. Either your whole body is engraved with markings, or you have distinctive features you wanted to hide.”

Despite possessing strong combat skills and spellcraft, the Aegis operatives lacked skill in using spells effectively.

If this was a common trait among Aegis operatives, it could be used to deduce the identity of the mole.

Logia, who relied on triggering spells through engravings rather than true understanding, was hidden by his werewolf traits.

Despite his rough demeanor, the answer had been clear from the start based on his abilities.

Lennok continued, even without a response from Logia.

“I don’t care how you’ve managed to involve yourself with both Pandemonium and Aegis. What I’m curious about are your motives.”

“Motives…?”

“Don’t tell me you think Doctor didn’t know about this.”

Logia was rendered speechless by Lennok’s cold gaze.

“Why would you reveal your identity at this point, knowing all of that? Let me guess,” Lennok nodded with a hint of a smile.

“You’ve failed to collect artifacts of the Old World as you intended, but you still wanted to participate in the settlement.”

The interim settlement led by Doctor wasn’t merely about collecting and handing over Old World artifacts. Participants could also reclaim Old World information or knowledge according to their accumulated influence.

It was clear how valuable the lost technology or abilities of the Old World could be.

Logia had sought Aegis’s help to gather information on the Old World to participate in the settlement.

Seeing Logia's changing expression, Lennok continued.

“If you leaked information about the settlement and received help from Aegis, it explains the current situation. You probably thought that the mole’s identity would become irrelevant once Doctor disappeared.”

“…”

“After that, there’s no need for further explanation. Pretending to suspect me and escaping with Chevien wasn’t a bad move.”

Lennok smirked.

“But if you really wanted to avoid suspicion, you should’ve left Byrutz instead of wearing that ridiculous helmet.”