Would such tactics work on Herman?
That's a very good question.
To that question Herman had only three words—what a joke.
"All flash and no substance."
Herman's expression was priceless. To him Sabretooth moved like a turtle. Its supposedly agile twists and turns looked like someone slowly hopping left and right. In that moment Sabretooth looked utterly ridiculous.
How to describe it?
Like an obscure Chunin in Naruto using the Hidden Mist Technique on the God of Shinobi and thinking the god is already a sitting duck.
Plainly deluded. Ordinary yet overconfident.
"Don't you know? Even if I back down ten thousand steps, even if I can't see you, I still have the power to flip this table."
As Herman finished speaking, Telekinesis condensed into a terrifying giant hand. Another slap sent the flea-sized Sabretooth crashing into the ground.
"BOOM."
Like a meteor striking the earth. The ground split into a massive palm-shaped crater. Dust billowed.
The once-agile Sabretooth, unable to react, was smashed into the earth like a meat patty. The soil caved several meters. That showed how terrifying the force on Sabretooth had been.
Herman still hadn't used full power. But the fly-like Sabretooth had annoyed him enough to increase his force a little. It was truly only a slight increase. Sabretooth was just too weak. Under Herman's Telekinesis slap its body nearly imploded.
Cracks webbed across its flesh. Blood sprayed like mist and filled the air.
If not for Sabretooth's extreme Healing Factor and a body tougher than Wolverine's, he would have been smashed to pieces.
"Aaah!"
Even Sabretooth's ferocity couldn't stop an agonized howl. He felt pain like never before.
"What kind of power is this!?"
Sabretooth couldn't understand Herman's method. Darkness swamped his vision. Death felt closer than ever.
"Honestly, for someone this weak but so loud, my patience has run out."
Herman stepped to the crater's edge and stared indifferently down at Sabretooth.
"Damn scum!"
Sabretooth hated being looked down on. It probably came from his past. He gritted his teeth and tried to hold his broken body together. The half-crushed side of his face lifted with effort as he fixed Herman with a stare.
At that moment Sabretooth's face and shattered eyes were full of rage and venom.
He had a slave-like childhood and was hypersensitive. He killed to feel control over others' fates. His pride was huge. He could not stand being belittled.
"You can't kill me! I'll tear you apart in the end!"
Confident in his Healing Factor, Sabretooth roared crazily at Herman. He believed anyone who couldn't kill him would eventually be killed by him.
Regenerative factors kicked in and rapidly repaired his shattered body.
"Humans, they just love to wallow in their own limited understanding... Do you truly believe yourself to be immortal?!"
A pitch-black light shimmered within Herman's eyes—unseen by ordinary people, yet one could sense the icy chill radiating from his cold gaze.
Sabretooth felt a sudden pang of dread. Before it could even realize the danger approaching, its mind was assaulted by Herman's mental onslaught.
"Aaargh!"
Sabretooth let out another agonized roar, its barely-raised body crashing back to the ground with a wet thud. Both tiger paws clutched desperately at its head as it writhed in agony on the frozen ground. This was undoubtedly the most excruciating pain it had ever endured.
Its brain matter was dissolving—an agony far worse than any physical wound. Wails of torment echoed through the icy illusionary realm as blood mixed with brain matter poured from its eyes, ears, and nose.
Herman's psychic power was shredding Sabretooth's mind, yet its formidable Healing Factor desperately tried to repair the damage at the same time. That very regeneration kept Sabretooth alive, but it also prevented it from falling unconscious, forcing it to endure the pain without end.
"No! What... what have you done to me?!"
Sabretooth screamed with every ounce of strength left, its voice hoarse and raw as it glared at Herman. Its skull was already a mangled mess, torn and clawed open by its own hands.
The pain was unbearable—so intense it made Sabretooth want to rip its own brain out. Overwhelmed by torment, it clawed at its scalp until the flesh tore away, exposing parts of the skull beneath. Though its self-healing was rapid, its frenzy to mutilate itself was even faster, creating a grotesque and horrifying sight.
Anyone witnessing it would have been traumatized for life. Fortunately, only Sabretooth and Herman were present—no one else would be scarred by the scene.
As for Herman, his heart remained utterly unmoved.
"This is for my innocent off-road vehicle."
His tone was flat, almost casual. He hadn't forgotten his wrecked car, and torturing Sabretooth like this was simply payback for it.
"I am immortal!"
Even as madness overtook it, Sabretooth screamed, mutilating itself with Cthulhu-like frenzy while clinging to the belief that its Healing Factor would save it.
"You wish to defy death? You haven't earned my permission."
The ink-black hue in Herman's eyes deepened.
The power of death began to invade Sabretooth's body. Under the rule of that law, its so-called Healing Factor became a laughable joke.
"What! Me! What's happening to me?!"
Sabretooth's body rapidly aged, its regenerative powers halting in an instant. Blood streamed from its seven orifices as it continued to mutilate itself, finally realizing something inside it had changed. Terror filled its heart. How could this monstrous man possess such incomprehensible powers?
Had even its own abilities been stripped away?
"Aaaah!!"
Without its Healing Factor, Sabretooth felt death closer than ever before. Its fading vision caught only the image of Herman slowly approaching.
"You want to wrench my head off? What a coincidence—I share a similar hobby."
A mocking voice whispered by its ear. Sabretooth's body convulsed violently, decaying rapidly. It tried to cry out but could only produce a low, rasping growl.
"Though my preferred method... might differ slightly from yours."
Herman's voice sounded again. Sabretooth felt a massive hand cover its boiling skull, the power within it growing stronger by the second.
"Ever seen a watermelon shatter? I'll let you experience it firsthand."
With the faint crackle of bones snapping, Sabretooth's already-blurred skull was slowly crushed under Herman's hand. Fragments of bone scattered as brain matter, released from unbearable pressure, burst outward.
The surrounding trees and grass were splattered with crimson-streaked white matter, yet none of it touched Herman.
Beneath the Telekinesis barrier, his clothing remained spotless—a sharp contrast to the blood-soaked landscape around him.
"Thud."
The headless corpse collapsed lifelessly onto the filthy ground.
All traces of vitality were gone. Sabretooth truly possessed the so-called "immortal gene," yet even that had its limits.
Even without Herman invoking the Law of Death, a decapitated Sabretooth could never survive. The Healing Factor could not regrow a head.
Herman had used the Law of Death earlier only to make Sabretooth experience pain more vividly—to let it truly feel the terror and despair of dying.
"I really am quite vengeful," Herman said calmly, watching as Sabretooth's terrified soul was drawn into the gates of the [Realm of the Dead].
A mutant's soul.
Its contribution to the enhancement of his Death Card "Engine" was minimal—but it did add a bit of 'species' diversity to the [Realm of the Dead].
"Let's see if tragic old Logan will come looking for revenge for his brother."
Herman pulled out a piece of paper, wiped the filth from his hands, and then walked toward the unconscious Wolverine.
...
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