Anagin Chronicles

Chapter 119

The moment Hippomenes’s flesh-blade, its surface coated in orichalcum, was about to strike the Beast Devourer.Anagin summoned Longbald and raised it to defend.

No matter how hard the blade was, he judged that it wouldn’t be able to break a club forged from Energy (Γι).

──────!

His prediction was correct.

Even the flesh-blade reinforced with orichalcum failed to break Longbald.

Anagin briefly remembered the now-dead Longbald (Periphetes) in his hands. Helping him out even after death—he truly was like a giving tree.

That was enough mourning.

Anagin returned his focus to reality and sized up his opponent.

When the blade was stopped, Hippomenes showed a flicker of panic, and Anagin didn’t miss the opening, pouring all the strength in his body into pushing the blade away.

No matter how large the opponent, depending on how you used your strength, it could always be pushed back.

Hippomenes, flustered, was forced back by Anagin’s power.

Seizing the momentum, Anagin used Yul (εὐ) and focused as much Energy (Γι) as possible into Longbald.

It wasn’t a calculated move so much as one driven by instinct.

Filled with a massive amount of energy, Longbald began to glow, and in that state, Anagin slammed it into the ground with all his might.

‘The name is…… yeah, this works.’

[Ground Breaker]

The moment the energy-packed Longbald struck the ground, Anagin’s accumulated Energy (Γι) exploded outward, and the surrounding area was—quite literally—shattered.

Centered on the point of impact, the ground’s surface peeled back as if overturned, spiderweb-like cracks spreading wide as the earth was destroyed. The quake-like tremor was a bonus.

Kuuuurrrrrr───!!

Honestly, this much was within expectations.

He’d experienced something similar back at the second ruin village.

Back when he’d used the invisibility bracelet and swung Longbald in the middle of a crowd of practitioners.

The tremendous impact had sent them tumbling everywhere, so he’d expected that swinging it while fully charged with energy would cause an even greater shock.

‘But this part is even beyond my expectations...’

As everyone lost their footing and fell due to the shaking ground,

Anagin stared at the shattered earth.

More precisely, he was caught off guard by the sight of the flesh covering the ground being erased.

The flesh that had spread out when Hippomenes’s flesh-blade struck the ground vanished as if old grime were being scrubbed away by Longbald.

As if to say: this isn’t your land.

He’d heard that Energy (Γι) had the power to nullify magic—maybe this was a similar phenomenon.

‘Whatever, who cares? A good thing is a good thing.’

Anagin gave up on understanding the principle and decided to focus on the result.

The disappearance of the flesh was, without exception, beneficial to their side, so there was no need to overthink it.

No more pigs would be summoned, and the ones already summoned wouldn’t be able to regenerate.

The pigs seemed to sense the gravity of the situation as well, all turning at once and charging at Anagin.

[Mind if I borrow some Energy (Γι)?]

The semi-transparent Sphinx spread her massive wings from his back.

Large, beautiful wings that drew admiration just by looking at them.

For an instant, everyone’s gaze was drawn there.

Flap!

In that state, Sphinx beat her wings, scattering feathers in all directions.

The feathers streaked through the air like arrows, tracing fiery arcs as they pierced every single pig.

Kwaeek!!!

Kkweeeek-!

Kkwiik……!

The pigs collapsed one after another, screaming.

“I thought you didn’t like fighting?”

[If something happens to you, that’s a problem for me too. I’m your familiar, remember?]

“That’s good. I was going to ask for help anyway.”

[Hmph, you certainly have a way with words.]

Grinning at Sphinx’s words, Anagin charged forward with Longbald in one hand and the Beast Devourer in the other.

Sphinx naturally boosted his movement speed with wind magic.

Now even faster, Anagin rushed at the rising Hippomenes and swung both weapons.

His target was Hippomenes’s left leg.

[Shell Breaker]

[Trotter Slice]

First, Anagin smashed Hippomenes’s left greave with Longbald, shattering it, and then immediately followed up by cutting into the leg with the Beast Devourer.

Kkweeeek……!

Hippomenes screamed in apparent ‘delight.’

But it wasn’t a clean sever.

Perhaps because he’d swung one-handed, the power fell short, cutting only about halfway through.

And even that was already regenerating.

Whiz— Thwack!

At that moment, a spear of flame struck right into the wound in Hippomenes’s leg.

The flaming spear exploded on impact.

Boom!

Neither too much nor too little, the explosion detonated inside the wound, destroying Hippomenes’s leg.

The flames clinging to the wound after the blast visibly slowed its regeneration.

It was Meleager’s flame spear.

Kkweek!

In immense pain, Hippomenes dropped to one knee, screaming, yet he didn’t completely collapse, propping himself up with one arm.

Whether by instinct or reason, he understood that falling completely would be dangerous.

He tried to resist by swinging his flesh-blade—

Thunk-!

But Atalanta’s enlarged arrow precisely pierced the inside of Hippomenes’s elbow.

Earlier, his movements had been too free to land such a shot, but now it was comparatively easy.

With his elbow pierced by the massive arrow, Hippomenes lost his balance and began to topple backward.

Anagin didn’t miss the chance, smashing the arm that had been supporting Hippomenes against the ground.

[Shell Breaker]

The arm guard shattered, and Hippomenes, who’d been barely holding on, completely lost his balance and fell.

As if she’d been waiting for that moment, the giant arrow Atalanta had fired skyward came crashing down, piercing Hippomenes’s fallen body.

Through the left leg and arm where the armor had been broken.

Though it failed to pierce the torso clad in sea-monster hide armor, that alone was enough to say Hippomenes’s movements had been sealed.

“G-Good, we should also...”

“Get lost. You’re in the way.”

When some practitioners who’d only been watching tried to jump in at the last second, Anagin flatly shut them down. Pigmenes was his prey.

“W-who do you think you—”

“Flame squad, stay alert for parasites. The rest of you, watch the perimeter in case Pigmenes tries to escape. Sphinx, you also move back and stand by.”

Ignoring whether the fools were grumbling or not, Anagin gave out instructions.

Meleager and Tramachus prepared flames in case parasites appeared.

The others surrounded Hippomenes to guard against a possible escape.

Sphinx also released her spirit-form and waited outside.

Surprisingly, everyone cooperated. In the midst of it, Meleager cautiously offered some advice.

“A bishop’s true form is that one. There’s no separate core or main body.”

“This isn’t a proper bishop.”

Anagin described the moment when he’d burrowed into the flesh and tried to cut Hippomenes’s neck.

Just before the Beast Devourer’s blade touched him, the flesh around Hippomenes had swelled and exploded outward.

The important point was that Hippomenes himself hadn’t exploded—instead, the flesh had gathered around him and burst.

Though it was only for a fleeting instant, Anagin had seen it clearly.

“Therefore, Hippomenes is still inside that pig giant’s body. That’s my conclusion.”

At Anagin’s confident declaration, Meleager said nothing further.

Whatever the case, Anagin had led this battle.

As long as no problems arose, it was right to follow his judgment.

That was why everyone obeyed Anagin’s orders.

Anagin stepped onto Hippomenes’s fallen body.

Climbing onto Hippomenes’s torso, Anagin dismissed Longbald, then gripped the Beast Devourer with both hands.

The Beast Devourer gleamed coldly under the moonlight.

Hippomenes trembled, exhaling white snorts.

The pig’s eyes met Anagin’s.

Kkwiik-! Kkwiik-!

Hippomenes panted in fear.

Holding the Beast Devourer with both hands, Anagin poured in Energy (Γι) without restraint—so much that it practically overflowed from the blade.

Kkweee—

“-AAAAAAAGH!!!”

Hippomenes tried once more to struggle by unleashing that eerie shriek.

But just as before, Anagin roared back, swallowing the scream whole.

Then he raised the Beast Devourer high, aiming at Hippomenes’s torso clad in sea-monster armor.

Even though it was armor so tough that even Atalanta’s arrows couldn’t pierce it, whether it could be cut remained an open question……

‘In the end, this is armor made from a beast too, isn’t it?’

[Skinning]

Anagin swung the Beast Devourer in a wide, sweeping arc, as if filleting a carcass.

The excessive amount of Energy (Γι) poured into the blade expanded the very reach of the attack.

And that extended blade, following the movement of Anagin’s hand, peeled away the sea-monster hide armor in one clean motion.

Scales of the sea beast, coarse pig bristles, and droplets of blood scattered everywhere.

Kkweaaak! Kkweeeeeak──!!

Driven mad by the horrific pain of having its hide stripped away, Hippomenes thrashed violently, but Anagin did not stop swinging the Beast Devourer.

[Belly Split]

With the armor gone, Anagin aimed at the weakened torso and tried to split it open vertically.

It didn’t succeed in one strike, and regeneration kicked in, so Anagin swung again—and again.

Before long, bone was exposed.

[Rib Splitter]

Kkweeeiiik─!! Kkwek! Kkwoeek─!!

And then……

[Gouge]

Rather than simply cutting, Anagin carved inward, gouging through Hippomenes’s insides as he forced his way deeper.

Kkweeeiiikkkkk……!!!

Wracked by unbearable pain, Hippomenes convulsed and tried desperately to rise, but every attempt was interrupted by Atalanta’s falling arrows.

By the time the sea-monster armor was completely stripped away and Anagin reached the internal organs—

Blurk! Blurk! Blurk! Blurk!

The parasites inside Hippomenes burst through the flesh.

They were incomparably larger than the ones seen before.

Less like insects, more like serpents.

But—

Whiz—!

Meleager, who had been standing by, provided perfectly timed support.

Flame spears detonated around Anagin, incinerating the parasites as they lunged toward him.

Fwoooooosh—!

A shrill, tearing sound of fire filled the air.

A heat that blinded the eyes, melting the skin, burning the muscles, and cooked internal organs enveloped Anagin, but he didn’t care and kept swinging his blade.

He’d done this kind of insanity before, back with Erysichthon, and countless times with his master.

Slaaash—!

Even within the flames, Anagin continued to swing the Beast Devourer, pushing deeper into Hippomenes’s body.

The heat made the flesh easier to cut—an unintended bonus.

As burning agony and cutting pain struck simultaneously, Hippomenes began thrashing far more violently than before, spewing parasites from his entire body.

Those who sensed that his death was close only grew more desperate, clinging to him with everything they had.

Meleager spread flames to suppress the parasites, while Tyreos reinforced the fire. Lynceus called out any parasite that slipped through.

Meanwhile, Irida and Sphinx used blessings and the magic of wind, raising a vortex around Hippomenes.

When wind met fire, a massive inferno erupted, engulfing Hippomenes and completely halting his movement.

Their goal—sealing Hippomenes’s actions—was achieved.

Wrapped in flames, Hippomenes could no longer even attempt to rise, collapsing where he lay.

Within that ominous blaze, only one figure moved.

Anagin alone swung the Beast Devourer inside the fire until he finally reached his destination.

“GRAAAAAAAH!!”

Deep within the belly, he found Hippomenes.

His lower body fused with the pig giant’s interior, Hippomenes thrust a half-shattered orichalcum blade toward Anagin.

Anagin blocked it with the Beast Devourer.

“What are you?! What the hell are you?!!”

Screaming in fury and desperation, Hippomenes swung his sword wildly.

Anagin knocked the blade aside, smashed Hippomenes’s face with his fist, cracked his head with the pommel, then swung the Beast Devourer again, carving into his shoulder.

Clang! Thud!! Crack! Shrrk! Thud! Thud!

Hippomenes, knowing that retreat meant true death, refused to give up.

Steel clashed against steel, fists collided with faces, blades tore through flesh, elbows and knees slammed into bodies—the sounds rang out endlessly.

After a long exchange, the balance of the fight began to tilt.

Anagin’s swings, both blade and fist, grew more frequent.

Hippomenes’s attacks dwindled, replaced by the sound of him being struck again and again.

The fury in his eyes slowly gave way to terror.

Yet Anagin himself was growing frustrated.

Even using Yul, he couldn’t sever that neck in one go.

Fail to sever it, and it regenerated immediately.

As the fight dragged on into a messy stalemate, Hippomenes suddenly shook his body violently and tore his lower half free from the pig giant.

He was trying to escape.

Rip—!

As the lower body tore away, crude legs formed in its place.

The problem, for him, was that Anagin instantly stomped on those legs, pinning Hippomenes in place.

Anagin swung the Beast Devourer, once again empowered with Yul, but still failed to sever the neck in one strike, and the wound regenerated rapidly.

The neck, in particular, seemed to regenerate faster than anything else.

“Hiiiik—!!”

Hippomenes struggled desperately, trying to flee.

And in that moment, Anagin understood what he’d been doing wrong.

Now that the target was smaller, instead of expanding the attack range, he needed to concentrate its power.

Anagin gathered the wildly spreading Energy (Γι) into a single point, sealed it within the Beast Devourer, grabbed Hippomenes’s head, and brought the blade right under his neck.

Then, pressing the head downward, Anagin lifted the blade.

Slowly, Hippomenes’s head descended toward the edge.

Faced with imminent death, Hippomenes smashed the back of his head into Anagin’s face in resistance, but Anagin responded with a headbutt of his own, overpowering him and continuing to press down.

Slowly.

Slowly.

With certainty.

Shrrk—!

At last, Hippomenes’s head separated from his body.

In that instant, even amid the raging flames, Hippomenes’s blood sprayed outward—

And the Beast Devourer, as if awakening from slumber, devoured the blood, the lingering energies within his body, and even the surrounding flames.

Huuuuuuuuuuung……!!!

The inferno was sucked entirely into the blade, and Anagin found himself facing the people who had been waiting outside.

As the fire vanished in an instant, everyone stared in stunned disbelief.

Anagin looked down at the Beast Devourer’s blade and saw a new crimson pattern etched into it.

A burning red pig.

He stared at the mark for a long moment, then said,

“I don’t know what you are now, but from today on, your name’s Pigmenes.”