#503

Interim Summary (7)

A brilliant blue explosion lit up the entire theater, piercing through the darkness.

Baaaam!!

The intensity of the light was overwhelming, so bright that an ordinary person would have been blinded in an instant. Yet, none of those present averted their gaze from the epicenter of the blast. They were all keenly aware of the immense power of the mana resonance incendiary bomb, and instead of being intimidated, they were focused on how long Logia could withstand it.

“The timing was almost perfect.”

“Using spatial teleportation to shove the bomb in makes it difficult to react. Is that the Spatial Manipulation Technique from the Special Attributes?”

“The moment it detected the foreign object, it should have spit it out immediately. This is tricky.”

“Of course, I could have done it... Seems like he's unusually slow for a werewolf.”

Rather than being shocked by the explosion caused by Lennok, they marveled at it or criticized Logia’s slow reaction. No one here questioned the fact that Logia had been attacked. 

Lennok, ignoring the responses of his comrades, immediately used spatial teleportation again. Through his battles with Amrita, his understanding of spatial manipulation had increased dramatically. Now, Lennok was using even the powers contained in the Compassion of Archangel as if they were his own. The deeper he delved into the fundamental concept of controlling space, the more varied the techniques and artifacts derived from it became. 

At this rate, extracting the ability of spatial teleportation contained in the Compassion of Archangel might actually be within his grasp. 

Despite his idle thoughts, Lennok’s magic moved with a speed that matched his will. Above Logia’s head, amidst the blinding flashes of light, five incendiary bombs swirled, exploding brilliantly. As the dwindling explosion flared up again, beams of heat poured down relentlessly. 

This time, the expressions of the other members slightly changed.

“... He’s doing it again? If he’s successfully executed consecutive spatial teleportations, there shouldn’t be any mana left.”

“Does he still have energy to spare?”

“He seems a little off the edge. Should we step in and stop him soon?”

“Stop him? You want to stop someone who thinks bombs are muzzles?”

Boom!!

A localized, targeted explosion compressed the area where Logia stood. But even the aftermath alone caused the surrounding air to heat up and waver. The dusty audience seats were swept away like waves, lighting rigs teetered and collapsed, melting into molten steel. 

Just as the flow of light began to dim and the heat seemed to die down, at that very moment—

Crunch!!

A sound like something being chewed and swallowed came from the center of the explosion as the heat was sucked in.

Crack!!

With a grotesque noise like metal being ground by teeth, Logia stepped forward from the flames. The wolf, whose throat still glowed with residual blue flame, gazed around with fierce, blazing eyes. The shattered remnants of the glass tubes fell from between his tightly clenched teeth.

Logia, who had kept his mouth tightly shut, trembled violently, his half-human, half-beast body shaking as he abruptly turned his head and exhaled heavily.

“Uweeek!!!”

Boom!!!

At the same time, the remaining heat erupted from Logia’s mouth, turning the theater’s seating area into a sea of flames.

“Hah, hah, haaah...!!!”

As Logia gasped for breath, the immense mana within him surged violently, making it seem like his entire body might explode. The magical sigils engraved beneath his fur flashed relentlessly. The forceful thoughts mixed with the rotating magic in his throat resonated, becoming vivid images.

A menacing illusion formed around the werewolf, as though a giant current of air was swirling fiercely around him. However, Logia hadn’t endured the heat of the incendiary bomb in his mouth. Instead, he had swallowed the heat into his stomach and then expelled it in the opposite direction, minimizing the damage in an instant.

This was a mastery of magic and mental imagery—a technique so daring that one couldn’t even think of attempting it in a clear state of mind. Even with the powerful body of a beast, the esophagus and internal organs aren’t naturally resistant to such heat. If Logia were not a monster on par with Croken Asilus, he surely would have based this ability on a microcosm mental image.

‘A mental image related to greed or appetite? Or perhaps digestion, overeating?’

While Lennok pondered, Logia scowled and strode forward. Spreading his legs wide and bending at the waist, he loosened his shoulders and glared at Lennok with piercing eyes.

“I had a hard time making sure the heat didn’t touch my body. My stomach’s a bit messed up because of it.”

“...”

“But I won’t spit out your head if I chew and swallow it.”

The werewolf’s mouth stretched into a long grin.

“So you might want to think things through before you start begging.”

“For a beast, you sure have some interesting things to say.”

Lennok smirked.

“Think you could survive if I cut off your tongue and shoved an incendiary bomb directly into your stomach?”

“If you can, go ahead and try.”

Logia lowered his stance slowly and tilted his head.

“Before I rip your mouth wide open and spill every secret you’ve got.”

It was a declaration as savage as could be. Now that Logia had summoned his microcosm mental image, there was no avoiding a clash.

Lennok stepped forward, heating up his teleportation technique and gathering his mana. At that very moment, as Logia opened his mouth wide with one hand and heightened his senses by swirling his magic, Doctor, who had been watching the scene from above, spoke up.

“You can fight all you want, but aren’t you concerned about missing the payout?”

At those words, Logia, who had been overflowing with killing intent, stopped his backward-jointed legs.

“...What?”

“The operation time for the deity is almost up. There’s a power output limit, so it’s hard to keep the system running for long.”

Doctor casually replied, shaking his fur-covered body.

“If this drags on any longer, the settlement itself will be difficult. But if you’re fine with that, go ahead. Honestly, I wouldn’t mind just sitting back and watching the fight.”

The other members immediately reacted to Doctor’s words.

“Wait, is it really already that time?!”

“That’s a problem... It would defeat the whole purpose of participating in the settlement.”

“Hehe, I knew it would turn out like this from the start. Pathetic fools.”

Ignoring the grim chuckle of Blood Wrath, Lennok turned to Doctor and asked.

“What exactly do you mean by the deity’s operation time?”

“Well, as you might have gathered by now, it’s a computer handling data from the old world. The time we can power it on and run the system is limited, and once that time is up, we’ll need to replenish its energy.”

Doctor tapped the top of the deity’s head as he explained.

“Of course, we’re backing up the data in real-time to save it, but once the system shuts down, we’ll need some time before we can do another settlement.”

Doctor smiled as he looked at Lennok, who remained silent.

“That’s why the explosions you set off haven’t had much of an impact over here.”

“...”

Had he noticed?

When Lennok had attacked Logia just now, he had subtly redirected the explosion’s force toward the deity, observing the reactions of the other members and Doctor. If that deity was a unique and irreplaceable artifact, surely Doctor or the other members would have shown some kind of reaction.

It had been an attempt to check the infrastructure inside the Pandemonium, but Doctor had cleverly sensed Lennok’s intentions and subtly issued a warning. However, instead of responding to Doctor’s words, Lennok smiled coldly.

“Then it doesn’t matter.”

In an instant, Lennok shoved another incendiary bomb into Logia’s mouth and detonated it.

Boom!!!

Bluish flames burst out right below the deity, creating a pillar of light.

“Victor…!!”

“As Doctor said, there’s no issue with the deity’s functionality, so go ahead and settle the score however you like,” Lennok said, extending his hand politely from within his robe. “I’ll wait in line after I finish killing this wolf bastard.”

Even the other members of Pandemonium clicked their tongues at his chilling remark.

“He’s insane. Are all Special Attribute sorcerers like this?”

“He’s not much different from how I remember.”

“What’s that, Soryu? Have you worked with Victor before?”

“Rather than working together…”

As Soryu, with an expressionless face, watched the continuous explosions, Logia sprang out from the heat, laughing wildly.

“Hahaha!! Alright, let’s see this through to the end!!”

Instead of being intimidated or scared by Lennok’s relentless attacks, Logia seemed to enjoy it, proving that he wasn’t an ordinary superhuman. As Logia licked his lips and drooled while gathering his magic, opening his mouth wide toward Lennok, a sudden voice interrupted.

“No.”

Maya Renslet moved.

“I’m getting bored.”

Like a gust of wind passing by, she took a single step and appeared in front of Logia, placing her hand under the werewolf’s chin.

Boom!!

Immediately, Logia’s body staggered backward, as if hit by a heavy punch, blood scattering as he stumbled. Her speed was so lightning-fast that even Lennok’s sharp perception couldn’t precisely identify where she struck.

“...!!!”

But despite the surprise attack, Logia didn’t fall. Instead, he regained his balance on the spot.

“Maya…!!! What are you doing!!!”

“You’re the one who started this in the first place, werewolf,” Maya said with an expressionless face as she slashed her hand down once more. Logia’s crown split open, dropping as if crushed. Her movements were so sharp and precise that even a beast’s instincts couldn’t respond adequately.

Although Logia had surpassed the limits of pure strength, even beyond normal hierarchy, he was being utterly toyed with by Maya’s fingertips.

“So you should be the one to end it. Isn’t that obvious?”

“Damn it…!!!”

Crack!!

Perhaps realizing the truth of her words, Logia ground his teeth and grabbed Maya’s swinging hand. Maya smiled faintly, her eyes gleaming.

“Caught me?”

“…Alright. I can’t mess up the settlement.”

The silver werewolf gradually shrank in size, reverting to the form of a tattooed human man. No matter how badly Logia wanted to tear secrets from Lennok, he didn’t want to ruin the entire settlement process. In the end, if he continued the fight with Lennok, he’d be the one bearing the full responsibility.

As Logia reluctantly stepped back, suppressing his fury, Doctor commented.

“If you made your move and still couldn’t break the mask, then it’s over. It’s not something that can be resolved without bloodshed, after all.”

“...”

“If there’s still any lingering resentment, it might be best to resolve it personally after the settlement is finished.”

“Where else would you find such good entertainment? Should we all gather and watch together when the time comes?”

“I was curious to see Victor’s face, but I guess I’ll have to pass.”

“I wonder how unique his appearance must be to keep it hidden like that.”

Even Vernon, seemingly disappointed at missing the fight between Victor and Logia, smacked his lips. Rather than trying to stop the conflict, there was a blatant sense of anticipation, as if they were actually looking forward to it. Their behavior showed they were driven more by individual impulse than by any organizational unity, a clear trait of Pandemonium.

Lennok, once again realizing how little of a sense of teamwork existed in this group, slowly dusted off his robe.

“Maybe the fact that he can’t speak, as Soryu mentioned, carries an entirely different meaning.”

Sabrina, who had been watching the conflict with a sour expression, finally added her opinion. Everyone’s eyes turned toward her as it was the first time she had spoken up.

“There are plenty of ways to prevent someone from speaking through specific restraints or restrictions. If not being able to explain the situation was intended, it wouldn’t be surprising.”

“So he’s under some restriction, but still allowed to say that Amrita is dead?”

“Didn’t it happen less than a month ago? If they thought the information would spread soon anyway, it wouldn’t be strange for there to be a lighter restriction on that fact.”

Sabrina added thoughtfully, resting her chin on her hand.

“If the process of Amrita’s death holds more significant meaning than the death itself, doesn’t that explain what’s happening now?”

“…”

Pandemonium’s word manipulator.

Even without concrete evidence or clues, Sabrina had already pieced things together, analyzing Lennok’s actions and behavior.

‘She’s quicker than I expected.’

Lennok, gazing at Sabrina, let out a faint, enigmatic smile beneath his mask.