"W-Woah." Lying on the floor, Jinx saw the figure that had been sent flying. She lifted her face, her small mouth opening and closing, and before she could stop herself, she let out a "woah."
Jinx stared at Logan standing where that big bruiser had been a moment ago, her beautiful blue eyes filled with disbelief.
Oh my god!
What the hell?
Logan—who couldn't even beat Claggor—just sent that big bruiser flying?
Then why was he always so polite to me?
Jinx endured the pain, completely baffled.
She… she'd thought Logan had let her stay because he couldn't beat her. Wasn't that how it went the first time they met? She'd threatened him—threatened him into giving her that bed.
But now…
Logan was insane.
And Logan?
Logan had no idea what was running through Jinx's head. He just shook out his arm, then looked toward the figure embedded in the wall, half-buried in the gray dust.
Logan had only used about half his strength. That kind of force, against a normal person, was probably the kind of punch that would leave someone missing a limb.
But against Sevika?
That was a big question mark.
Because Logan knew Sevika's body had long since been enhanced by Shimmer. After all, that chemtech mechanical arm of hers wasn't something bolted on externally—it was integrated directly into flesh and blood.
And with that arm activated, as Shimmer flowed into it, boiled, burned, and drove the machinery… those fluids would inevitably mix, at least partially, with Sevika's bloodstream. After enough exchange like that, her physical conditioning had already surpassed ordinary people by a mile.
Maybe Sevika wasn't like the future Jinx—becoming a full-on Shimmer-enhanced monster—but her physique was definitely far beyond normal. Besides, Sevika had always been the second-best fighter in the Lanes.
Outside of Vander, she was the Lanes' unquestioned number two—whether she admitted it or not.
"Sevika," Logan raised a hand to shade his eyes, squinting toward that spot as he called out, "can we talk like normal people now?"
That gesture caught Jinx's attention. Curled up like a shrimp on the floor, she wriggled a little, baring her teeth as her eyes followed his movement.
"So cool…" she whispered.
I'm doing that next time.
Jinx made up her mind on the spot.
"Ka-click."
The answer to Logan came as the sound of machinery. A pinpoint of purple light appeared—then a bright yellow glow flared up like fire.
"Vmm!"
A streak of purple sword-light shot at Logan. He tilted his body just slightly to dodge it—and even whistled.
Sevika's getting serious.
"BOOM!"
The sword-light slammed into the wall. The surface collapsed and shattered, and Logan immediately started feeling a headache coming on.
My place… yeah, it's completely gone now.
And the money I have on me still isn't enough to rent another room.
While thinking that, Logan slipped past a second slash of sword-light.
"Again, you little bastard!"
"You really have gotten bold, huh?!"
There was moisture at the corner of Sevika's mouth as she charged out through the broken wall, her right arm raised high. The chemtech mechanical arm swung down toward Logan's head like a blade.
Logan leaned back, avoiding the cut. He glanced down—and saw that Sevika's strike had pulverized the floor, leaving a deep gouge that radiated terrifying heat.
She's trying to kill me.
Of course.
Sevika was never the type to let feelings get in the way. In her heart, the "big picture" always came first.
That was why she'd betrayed Vander.
Logan lifted his head.
"Sevika—do you remember what you taught me and Marsen back then?" Logan spoke as he moved. "You said when you fight, don't watch the body—watch the eyes. Right?"
As he spoke, Logan stepped in, locking his gaze onto Sevika's eyes. His right foot stamped down hard on her left shin.
Sevika jolted in pain with a sharp cry, stumbling forward.
In the next instant, Logan drove from his waist and pivoted. His left arm came up—
And his elbow was already lined up with Sevika's chin.
On the floor, Jinx covered her face with one hand—yet her long, pretty fingers spread wide, leaving a gap for a pair of narrowed, gleaming eyes to peek through.
"Wah…"
That is going to hurt so bad!
"THUD—!"
The sound of bone cracking rang out.
At the moment of impact, Logan had pulled back a lot of force.
Even so, the instant elbow met jaw, Sevika's eyes rolled up, her chin twisted—and she blacked out on the spot.
With a "啪," she went limp and collapsed, her legs twitching twice.
Jinx jolted, suddenly anxious. "Is she dead?"
"How could she be?" Logan looked at her like she'd grown a second head, spreading his hands. "How would I ever kill her?"
"She just passed out."
"That definitely hurt," Jinx muttered.
Holding her stomach, she pushed herself up and walked over to Sevika. She lifted a leg—
But after a second thought, she lowered it again.
The big bruiser was already miserable enough.
Then she looked at Logan.
Logan was packing up. He grabbed two pieces of clothing off the table and headed toward the door.
Watching his back, Jinx stood there, hesitating.
She didn't actually hate Silco. She… she just hated being bored.
And right now, Logan was bringing her something new—freshness, excitement, a lot of fun. More importantly, being with someone her own age like Logan made her forget Mylo, forget Claggor, forget Vander, forget Vi.
But now… she didn't know if she should follow.
Sevika was right.
She'd caused trouble again. Piltover's Enforcers were coming down. If she stayed with Logan, she'd only drag him into it.
Sure, she'd brought back a Hextech Gemstone, and Silco was thrilled—but using it to make a weapon?
She couldn't do it.
It was too hard.
Even with that young councilor's notes, she still couldn't do it.
Because every time she started experimenting, Mylo and the others would appear in her head—noisy, shrill… annoying.
That was why she'd run away in the first place.
Besides… what reason did she even have to make Logan keep taking her along?
She'd assumed Logan was just a normal guy—someone she could threaten because he couldn't beat her. But looking at it now…
Wow. Sevika got hit for real.
That looked painful. That looked brutal.
"What's wrong, Jinx? Why aren't you coming?" Logan's voice suddenly rang out as she stood there lost in thought.
Jinx looked up—and saw Logan turned back to her. He spoke seriously:
"We have to go, Jinx. This place isn't livable anymore."
"We…?" Jinx froze, teeth sinking into her pale lower lip.
"What else would it be?" Logan tilted his head.
Jinx stared at him, biting harder—
Then she suddenly relaxed, spreading her hands with an easy, matter-of-fact tone.
"Yeah, yeah~ We should go."
"But wait. I've got something to do first."
Jinx ran over to the rubble by the wall. She crouched down and started digging through the stones, searching for something.
Then she found what she wanted.
——————
Out on the Lanes, a hooded girl in torn pants—her shoes clacking as she walked—was laughing like crazy.
"Did you see it? The art on Sevika's face—cute, right? Pretty, right? But that stuff's hard to wash off. When she gets back, Silco's totally going to chew her out!"
"I've been saying it forever—this big oaf can't do anything! You tell her to clean, and she'll light a kerosene lamp and burn the whole place down!"
With her back pressed against a man, her entire weight leaning into him, the girl spoke with bright, delighted glee.
Logan was laughing too. Thinking about the graffiti Jinx had left on Sevika's face, he could already picture Silco's expression when he saw her.
Walking out of the Lanes together with Jinx, Logan felt lighter.
He really could fight.
In Zaun as things stood right now, Sevika was one of the top-tier fighters in plain sight—yet Logan had dropped her with just a few punches.
That made him feel safe.
As for why he kept bringing Jinx with him…
Logan found it strange himself. Back then he'd seen her standing there in a daze, one arm wrapped around herself as she stood beside Sevika, and those words had slipped out instinctively.
Mm.
Was it because he didn't want to lose Jinx as a walking energy bank?
Or… did he want to change all of this?
"Hey."
"Hey."
"Hey!"
"I've called you like three times—what are you even thinking about?" A small hand popped up in front of Logan's face, and he snapped back to reality.
Jinx's little face was right there in front of him.
Logan caught her hand. Looking at her mischievous expression, he couldn't help but smile.
"I was thinking about what to eat tonight."
"Don't worry— I took all the big oaf's money," Jinx said, patting her almost-nonexistent chest.
"So you're treating?"
"No problem. All the mire-toad meat you want," she declared.
"…" Logan went quiet.
I really don't want to eat that.