Chapter 237: HUMAN VS BEAST
The air grew unnaturally heavy, thick with a pressure that gnawed at the skin. Logan’s eyes narrowed, his instincts screaming louder with each heartbeat.
Raphael’s laughter didn’t die down, it deepened, warping into something primal, guttural, filled with malice. His body trembled, muscles twitching as if struggling to contain something bursting from within.
Crack! Crack!
Bones popped and reshaped beneath his skin. His spine arched, lengthened, then snapped back with a sickening sound. Patches of coarse, midnight fur erupted across his flesh like wildfire. His once young and human-like face elongated grotesquely, his jaw pushing forward until a lupine snout extended outward, lined with razor-sharp fangs that gleamed under the fractured moonlight.
His eyes blazed crimson, burning with hunger and madness. His fingers warped into claws, black and jagged, dripping faint streaks of condensed frost.
"W-what in the world..." Alice’s voice trembled from the distance, her hands tightening on her chest.
Logan stood his ground, though his brows furrowed. This wasn’t just magic—this was something entirely different, something raw and primal.
Raphael roared.
But it wasn’t the roar of a man. It was a beast’s cry that shook the whole area, a sound that rattled the bones of every living being within earshot. Windows of the house shattered from the sheer resonance, birds in the distance fled the skies, and even the ground beneath them cracked under the vibration.
And finally, its transformation ended. He looked nothing like before. If Logan and Alice weren’t present and didn’t witness it with their own eyes, they would never believe it.
And then.... The beast moved.
The wolf-headed creature slammed his claws into the earth. Craters erupted, shards of stone flying in all directions. Then, with terrifying speed, he lunged forward.
Logan barely had a second to react before Raphael’s claw streaked across the space where his chest had been. He twisted his body mid-air, the tips of those claws grazing his tunic and tearing through the fabric as if it were paper.
"What?!" Logan’s mind raced. "How the hell is he this fast?"
He kicked against the air itself, propelling his body backward using wind magic, but Raphael didn’t give him a second to breathe.
The beast was already there.
Boom!
A claw strike slammed against Logan’s guard, sending tremors up his arms. His body was flung backward like a ragdoll, crashing through a boulder and skidding across the torn earth. Dust and debris filled the air.
"Logan!" Alice screamed, her voice cracking. She was about to run toward Logan, but just then Audrey hovered before her, stopping her midway.
Logan was already on his feet again. He wiped the blood from the corner of his lips and smirked, though his mind raced.
"This form of yours... it isn’t human anymore," Logan muttered, tightening his fists. "So this is the ’something more interesting than magic’ you spoke of."
Raphael’s beastly maw stretched into a terrifying grin. His voice was guttural, layered with echoes, as if two voices were speaking at once. "Human? Hah... Humans are weak. What you see now is the true appearance of my race."
Without warning, Raphael vanished again.
Logan’s pupils constricted. He spun, fire blazing around his fists, just in time to block.
Clash!
Claw met fist, and the collision sent a shockwave that uprooted nearby trees and shattered stone pillars into dust.
But unlike before, Logan’s footing faltered. His boots dug trenches into the ground as he was pushed back meter after meter.
"His strength has increased by leaps and bounds," Logan whispered to himself.
Raphael’s claws gleamed, frost coating them. With a slash, icy blades shot outward like projectiles, forcing Logan to weave and dodge. The ground froze in jagged streaks where they landed, turning the battlefield into a frozen wasteland.
Logan’s flames burst forth, burning away the frost. He launched himself forward, weaving between the icy attacks, and slammed a flaming fist at Raphael’s chest.
Boom!
The impact landed, flames exploding across the beast’s torso. Smoke and steam hissed violently.
But Raphael barely flinched. Instead, he laughed—his deep, guttural voice chilling to the bone.
And then....
His claw came swinging across.
Slash!
Blood sprayed as three lines tore across Logan’s arm, deep but not crippling.
"Tch..." Logan hissed, stepping back.
Alice covered her mouth, her eyes welling with tears as she saw her son’s blood. Audrey’s floating blade hovered protectively near her, but even the faceless sword spirit seemed tense, its energy thrumming with unease.
Raphael stood tall, fur bristling, his monstrous body radiating bloodlust.
"What’s wrong, Logan? You aren’t looking so confident anymore. Where’s that smirk you had just a moment ago?"
Logan clenched his fists. His opponent wasn’t just stronger in this form—he was faster, tougher, and his endurance bordered on the monstrous.
Yet, not a trace of fear flickered in Logan’s eyes. He had been forced back, yes, and there was a hint of worry in his gaze... but his confidence remained unshaken.
His eyes sharpened, his aura surging. "Let’s see the extent of the power of this body of yours." Logan thought. Mana flared in both his fists.
Raphael lunged again, claws tearing through the air. Logan met him head-on, fist blazing with fire and gravity magic weighing on his opponent with extreme pressure.
Boom!
Their collision lit up the battlefield like a thunder and lightning meeting. Dust erupted in waves, shockwaves rippled outward, and the earth itself quaked under the clash of monster and man.
Yet, in the aftermath, it was Logan who slid backward, boots dragging trenches through the dirt. His body shook, his arm numb from the sheer impact.
Raphael stood tall, looming like a nightmare come alive, his crimson eyes glowing with satisfaction. Even after Logan’s gravity magic, his speed or strength wasn’t affected at all. "Good... very good...! You’re strong, Logan. Stronger than any human I’ve faced in centuries. But still—" He raised his claws, dripping with both frost and blood. "This fight... belongs to me."
Logan didn’t say anything.
His body throbbed with pain, his breathing ragged. His fists trembled.....
But not from fear....
It was something else...
Despite the disadvantage, despite the blood running down his arm, Logan’s gaze never wavered. His eyes burned brighter, fiercer, more resolute.
He spat blood to the side and tightened his stance. "Amazing strength, Raphael. Your race seems interesting. But....." He paused for a bit before continuing. "Is that all, or are you keeping something reserved for later?"
Raphael, who was basking in the pride of his strength and had a wide grin spread across his face, was startled.
His eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at Logan’s face. He could see it. There was uncertainty and a little tension, but one emotion was definitely absent. The emotion that Raphael had expected.
Fear!
"What fuck do you mean by if this is all? Are you saying I will need more strength to beat you? Quit messing around and hand over the cultivation technique already, hand it over before I change my mind about letting your mother leave." Raphael snapped.
Meanwhile, Logan, whose smirk had vanished, twisted his neck slightly with a crack. "So that’s all. You got me worked up for a moment."
With that, he started walking toward Raphael. His steps were slow. Very slow.
But with each step....
something kept changing.
His internal energy flared up like wildfire and continued to grow.
The air around him grew heavy.
A colossal presence was clawing its way out.
Raphael’s eyes narrowed. His pupil shrank. His earlier grin started to vanish fast until it was totally gone. Instinctively, he took a step back.
Logan, who was walking toward him, finally stopped at one foot’s distance.
Raphael felt it. The pressure gnawing at him even without the use of any mana, the danger lurking over him even without any movement from Logan.
"Wh... What is this suffocating presence?" He thought. And then suddenly something hit him. Realization dawned on him. "B.. brat... What level are you at no....." He had opened his mouth to ask something, but alas. He couldn’t finish his words.
Logan’s right fist moved like a blur, slamming squarely on Raphael’s gut.
Raphael saw it. He tried to move his body, to dodge. But he could only see it landing perfectly.
And then....
Bang!
The air exploded as Raphael’s body was hurled back, snapping trees after trees in half, his body crashing through them.
His eyes were wide open as blood and spit burst out. His mind went blank. "How is this..." He wanted to ask something, but no words came out. So he was asking the question in his mind, but even he couldn’t even finish that.
Someone was already behind him.
Before he could crash into the next tree, he felt the touch of something else. Legs... A pair of them. They landed on his back as his backward fly abruptly came to a halt.
And then his chest arced forward like a bow.
Boom!
Again, with a loud explosion in the air, his entire body was thrown into the sky.
Air brushed passed his skin so fast that his skin was pulled back, mouth open.
And his heart? It was pounding, like a war drum. "What the hell is that brat?"