#513

The True Worth of the Sniper (6)  

"Do you really think that way?"  

Logia smirked, gripping his shoulder with his bare hands.  

Crack!  

As he tore through the suit covering his body like paper, his physique rapidly expanded. Logia, now transformed into a massive silver werewolf standing about 3 meters tall, drooled as he muttered,  

"I find it even harder to believe that you knew everything and still didn’t inform Doctor."  

"..."  

"Have you been waiting until now just to tell me this and feel superior? Heh heh, hahaha!"  

With hands more like those of a beast, Logia covered his eyes and burst into a fit of mad laughter. It was hard to believe that he had been even slightly intimidated just moments before, given his current state of arrogant laughter.  

Logia quickly grasped the context of what Lennok had just said and was confident that Lennok hadn’t shared any of the information he'd discovered with anyone else.  

He felt relieved that his identity as a double agent for both Aegis and Pandemonium had not been exposed.  

His disdain for the arrogance and complacency of his opponent, combined with the anger he felt toward both himself and his adversary in that tense moment, boiled over.  

"My thoughts have changed."  

Crunch!  

Crouched low, gripping the train roof with his four limbs, Logia let out a low growl.  

The air around them became razor-sharp, and his vision seemed to narrow as Logia summoned the microcosm of the werewolf, aiming his predatory instincts entirely at Lennok.  

"I'll take your corpse back, not to Aegis, but to Doctor. I’ll offer your body in exchange for turning a blind eye to this incident."  

"..."  

"I'll tear your limbs apart, take only your head, and devour the rest until nothing remains. That should suffice to make this incident disappear."  

"Well, I find that hard to believe."  

Despite Logia's threatening words, Lennok sneered coldly.  

"Didn't you think you needed Doctor's help, not Aegis's, to analyze and imprint my spells?"  

"Heh heh..."  

Logia gave no further response, only laughing with a hint of madness.  

"Hahaha!"  

Then, the werewolf leaped off the train roof, swiftly dashing down the side and slamming into Lennok.  

Boom!  

Lennok was immediately caught in Logia’s fangs, getting flung around the train's exterior.  

In the floating railway running through the night sky above the city, shadows and the figure of the beast intertwined, spinning wildly as they crushed and crumpled the train's steel plating like a toy.

Rumble, rumble, rumble!!!  

“I won’t let you get away this time…!!!”  

Logia’s attacks, filled with mad, wolf-like howls, struck fiercely, infused with violent mana. The nearly 3-meter-tall werewolf clenched his fists, twisting his shoulders as he roared. The magical engravings all over his body activated, filling the surroundings with a dazzling array of colors.  

Crack, crack, crack!!!  

Sharp wind blades, chains of shattered metal, and waves of mana erupted like a barrier, rippling outward. Each time Logia lunged forward on all fours, the engravings on his joints functioned like boosters, propelling his body. The engravings on his forearms and back enhanced his strength and durability, amplifying the power of his relentless attacks.  

Unlike the other agents who struggled to manage even a single magical engraving, Logia skillfully utilized every engraving on his body. He used them for controlling distance, amplification, and targeting, never losing track of Lennok’s presence, persistently dragging him into an exhausting battle of attrition.  

Fwooosh!!!  

Lennok extended his mana thread in response, but Logia’s reaction was entirely different this time. Instead of trying to block the incoming mana like a bullet, Logia simply snapped it with his extended fangs. Simultaneously, an explosion of power surged from Logia’s entire body.  

Crunch, crunch, crunch!!!  

“Tasty… so delicious…!!!”  

He bit into Lennok’s mana thread with his bare mouth, chewing and swallowing it. Logia’s massive wolf jaws devoured not only the mana thread but also various metal reinforcements and mana constructs, gulping them down without hesitation. He ran with his four limbs planted firmly between ground and air, devouring and digesting everything caught in his fangs.  

“Kuhahaha…!! No, it’s not just tasty… it’s incredible…!!!”  

Logia’s hysterical laughter spilled out, along with sticky drool from between his teeth. Simultaneously, the density of mana emanating from his body began to surge to an entirely new level.  

“This is the purest, most powerful mana I’ve ever tasted!!! This is… this is…!!”  

“...”  

Lennok remained silent as Logia turned his fierce gaze toward him, eyeing him with gluttonous greed. Logia’s jaws opened wide as he roared,  

“You’re no ordinary trait-based mage, are you?!!!”  

Logia’s ability to fully digest the explosion within his throat right in front of Lennok—something he had previously suspected—was now undeniable. What Logia was employing was an incredibly powerful microcosm related to gluttony or digestion. He was devouring Lennok’s mana thread directly and assimilating it within his body to make it his own.  

As Logia ravenously consumed Lennok’s mana thread, Lennok backed away. The two figures continuously clashed atop the train roof that raced along the floating railway above the dark city. Lennok pulled his mana thread attached to his elbow, landing lightly on one hand as he rolled backward, contemplating while shaking his sore arm.  

‘While I confirmed it during the medical checkup… this is beyond what I expected.’  

During a consultation with the vampire doctor Murphy, it had been confirmed that Lennok’s blood or mana acted as an extraordinary stimulant for high-level mana users. The last subject, a 5th-level mana user, had been overwhelmed by Lennok’s power and exploded.  

However, Logia not only withstood the side effects of consuming Lennok’s mana but also began to digest it and make the contained power his own. Could Lennok’s mana or blood truly yield such an immense enhancement if absorbed by a superhuman capable of enduring it?  

Lost in thought, Lennok noticed Logia’s attacks growing more ferocious, pushing beyond the limits of human imagination.  

“Kuhahahahaha!!!!! Hahahahahaha!!!”  

Logia’s crimson eyes expanded, his silver fur growing wildly longer and darkening to a deep black. His claws and fangs extended, quickly engraved with magical runes that were forged with dense layers of mana.  

It was a chilling and bizarre transformation, as if he were being reborn into an entirely different creature on the spot. The beast, now perfectly blending into the darkness of the night sky, raced across the train roof on all fours, with mana boosters erupting from his limbs.  

Boom!!!  

Immediately, hundreds of mana threads tangled together and skillfully bound Logia's form from the front. The tunnel of rotating mana threads enveloped the entire length of the train, attempting to pin and slice through Logia’s torso.  

“Aaaaaaah!!!”  

Logia devoured the mana threads that bound his shoulders along with his own flesh, breaking free as he rose.  

Rip!!  

As soon as he tore into his own body, it regenerated at the same spot. His bizarre, near-supernatural regenerative ability was far beyond the limits of living beings. The speed alone was comparable to the true form of an apostle Lennok had once faced. By consuming and digesting Lennok’s mana, Logia’s physical capabilities were escalating at an absurd rate.  

The werewolf staggered to his feet, drooling profusely as he mumbled deliriously,  

“Going higher, much higher…!!!!”  

The greatest change in Logia was not external but internal. An unfamiliar, twisted, yet pure mana that he could never have conceived of on his own now existed within him. Merely recognizing this presence expanded his senses beyond his previous boundaries, plunging him into deeper realms of perception.  

Crack…!!  

Like a hatchling breaking through its eggshell, Logia’s microcosm evolved, honing his animal instincts to a razor-sharp edge. As he continued to consume and digest Lennok’s mana thread, the changes within his body grew more pronounced. He sought to harness Lennok’s mana, integrating it into his own achievements and elevating his very soul.  

It was an effect more immediate and potent than any drug, doping agent, or elixir. Logia was already deeply immersed in the power of Lennok’s mana. He accepted it all—both the absurd coincidence of this miraculous encounter and its profound significance to him.  

Screech!!!  

At the point where animal instinct and human martial arts reached their limits, Logia achieved perfect fusion. His once chaotic, clumsy fists now carried a solid, distinct weight. The werewolf’s elongated limbs began to rotate gracefully, emitting a faint glow.  

Thud!  

Logia placed his fist against Lennok’s solar plexus, his eyes darkening. No longer was there a beast's howl in his voice.  

[Wolf’s Boundary: True Judgment]  

A powerful intent pierced the mind as Logia’s fist vibrated at an invisible speed. In that instant, the layered waves rippled across Lennok’s shadow robe like undulating tides.  

There was no recoil, shock, destruction, or resistance. At the culmination of instinct and technique, only a deep resonance remained, echoing endlessly. At the end of resonance, everything returns to dust.  

Booooom!!!!  

From Lennok’s shadow robe, a massive shockwave erupted within a radius of dozens of meters. The surrounding air currents swirled toward the epicenter, converging before exploding like a storm, overturning the tracks and the entire area.  

Craaaack!!!  

While the point of Logia’s impact remained eerily silent, the surrounding space erupted in chaotic frenzy, as if possessed by a demon.  

Beast and human—Logia’s two aspects harmonized perfectly, reaching the pinnacle of resonance.  

“Hah…”  

A sigh of near-ecstatic satisfaction escaped Logia’s lips. It was a stepping stone to rise higher, a foundation for becoming a powerful and great existence. The stagnation he had felt for so long was resolved in a single, electrifying moment of fulfillment.  

All of that emotion and resolve was contained within a single strike. The moment Logia landed his blow, Lennok’s body was reduced to mere flesh. His head and appearance remained intact, but he was already a living corpse.  

Groooooan…!!!  

The train fragments, now crumpled scrap metal, fell away without a trace of their original form. Amid the mangled wreckage beneath the overturned tracks, the faint remnants of Lennok’s shadow robe could still be seen.  

Logia stared blankly at Lennok’s sprawled body, then looked down at his own form. He had transformed into a nearly 4-meter-tall black werewolf, emanating a powerful and overwhelming force from his body.

And an overwhelming afterimage of his inner self, as if it had been completely overturned.  

“…This was it.”  

The stagnant accomplishments so far, the inspiration he had never once felt since achieving his rank, was now alive and breathing right before his eyes.  

“Forget engravings and plans; there’s no time for that.”  

He had to extract every drop of the peculiar mana from this unusual trait-based mage, down to the marrow, right now. Everything else could be dealt with later—it all seemed trivial. If he completely 'consumed' the opponent, Logia could progress to the next level.  

The certainty was stronger and clearer than any temptation he had experienced in his relatively short life. At this point, he couldn’t think of anything else.  

Just as Logia was about to grab Lennok’s fallen body and escape the city of Byrutz over the train, a hand suddenly appeared from the edge of Lennok's shadow robe, gripping Logia’s forearm tightly.  

“Did you enjoy your meal?”  

“…!!!”  

Lennok’s previously bent neck slowly turned back, and the obsidian mask glimmered coldly.  

“Well then, it’s time to pay the price.”  

With those words, Logia’s eyes bulged forward like a frog’s.  

“Ge-ruk?”