Chapter 16
Chapter 016. Beast Bastard (2)
When the flint sparked, flames burst to life at the center of the underground chamber.
Small, compared to the massive size of the cavern.
But not meaningless.
Startled by the sudden heat and light, the serpents recoiled, and their synchronized, current-like movements broke apart.
A clear sign they’d slipped free from the Monster Merchant’s control.
Anagin readjusted his grip on his sword and swept the flames sideways, scattering the burning serpents in every direction.
Those burning serpents fell into the oil on the floor, reigniting the fire, and before long, flames were surging throughout the entire underground space.
"Ah, now I can see a bit better."
The underground flickered with heat and light.
At its center, Anagin looked toward the Monster Merchant.
The Monster Merchant’s robe fluttered as he asked,
“This little fire play… is that where your confidence comes from?”
“Killing a beast that’s ruining the field doesn’t take confidence. But more importantly—”
Anagin cut himself off mid-sentence, kicked a burning serpent from the ground, and sent it flying toward the Monster Merchant.
The Merchant raised his arm to block the sudden attack, and in that split second, Anagin charged in, blade aimed to cut the Merchant down.
As if expecting it, the Merchant moved his arm, and two massive monster serpents erupted from beneath the floor, blocking Anagin’s path.
Anagin leaped, severing the head of one charging serpent, then stomped down on the other, crushing its skull beneath his heel.
It was only a brief delay.
When he turned his gaze back to the Monster Merchant, it was already pulling something from within his robe, almost as if vomiting it out.
A staff.
A walnut staff streaked with red, its surface gleaming smoothly, a ruby the size of a fist embedded at its tip.
Anagin kicked off the ground, closing the distance, and thrust his sword toward the Merchant’s head.
The blade flashed through the air.
But from beneath the Merchant’s robe, serpents sprang forth, layering themselves into a living wall of flesh that deflected Anagin’s strike.
Then the Merchant pointed his staff at Anagin.
“How pathetic.”
Flames gathered toward the staff’s tip, swirling together before shooting upward like a fiery column that slammed into Anagin.
FWOOOM!
The condensed blast struck with tremendous force, sending Anagin flying. The Monster Merchant called out toward him as he flew.
“Did you think none of the opponents I’ve faced before ever tried playing with fire?”
“No idea. I don’t care enough about you to know.”
Anagin, who had been thrown by the blast, rose immediately and answered.
As if nothing had happened, he brushed the ashes from his burnt shirt. Not a trace of burns marked the skin beneath.
It was the Gigant’s natural regenerative ability restoring him instantly. Even accounting for that, the recovery was remarkable.
“Burns don’t heal easily. Impressive recovery.”
“My only bragging points are my strength, my sturdy body, and my handsome face. Unlike you.”
"I'll give you credit for your skill in making jokes, too. Though they're not funny."
“Hah, it’s not a joke.”
Anagin seemed to laugh, then his face hardened.
Stretching his shoulders, he went on,
“Well, I get it. You’re weak, frail, and ugly, so life must be pretty dull for you.”
The Monster Merchant said nothing. It almost looked like he was agreeing.
“How do I know? It’s obvious. You just sit back and order monsters around, using fancy toys. You’re practically screaming, ‘I’m a weakling~!’”
“……”
“And ugly too—did I mention that? I can tell just from how you’re all wrapped up in that robe.”
“…Are you done talking?”
“Oh, when the topic turns against you, you try to sound intimidating? Not scary at all, though. What’ll you do about it?”
Anagin snickered, mocking the Monster Merchant.
The Merchant ignored him and swung his staff.
As it moved, the surrounding flames followed, forming the shape of a colossal serpent.
“No creativity at all. Don’t you have any design other than serpents?”
Anagin said that as he grabbed the bottom of his Interspatial Bag and swung it hard.
The Interspatial Bag, which spat out whatever he willed, began to eject weapons in accordance with his thoughts.
Spears, axes, swords, daggers, clubs—all sorts of weapons scavenged from Deodia’s men on his way here.
Propelled by centrifugal force, countless weapons shot toward the Monster Merchant in a straight line.
The Merchant, using his flame-formed serpent, blocked the oncoming projectiles and shouted,
“And that’s all the tricks you’ve got?!”
“This much is enough.”
Anagin tossed Bender’s sword into the air and kicked it as he replied.
With his foot smoothly pressing against the blade’s flat, he kicked it with full force. The blade gleamed as it flew, slicing through the body of the flame serpent and striking the fiery staff beyond it.
TAANG—!
A sharp, metallic sound rang out as Bender’s sword clashed with the flame staff.
He had kicked it, intending to cut it clean in two, but the staff didn’t break. It merely slipped from the Monster Merchant’s hand.
Instead, it was Bender’s sword that shattered.
“Damn, that’s tough.”
Anagin muttered in admiration. He’d aimed to cut it, yet failed.
In any case, once the Merchant lost his grip on the staff, the flames fell out of his control.
Anagin didn’t miss that opening. He charged at the Monster Merchant again.
The Merchant sent a serpent crawling forward, trying to retrieve his staff.
Just as he was about to reach it a split second faster—
“Yaaaaaahhh!!!”
Out of nowhere, the ponytailed man appeared, yelling as he snatched the staff first.
“What?!”
The Monster Merchant’s eyes widened in shock at the sudden interference.
Anagin was equally surprised, but for now, he decided to concentrate on the Monster Merchant. The most important thing was to beat this bastard to death first.
He pushed off the ground, closing the gap, and slammed his fist into the Merchant’s abdomen.
THUD!
‘That felt weird.’
Normally, punching something should come with the satisfying crunch or squish of breaking or crushing, but the Merchant didn’t give that feeling.
It was like hitting multiple dense yet soft layers that absorbed the shock.
But on the flip side, that meant he had taken some of the impact.
“Guuaaaahhk—!”
From beneath the robe that hid his face, the Monster Merchant gagged and vomited.
To Anagin’s surprise, what spilled out wasn’t today’s lunch, but gleaming gold and silver treasures.
‘What the hell is this bastard? Does he pay you to beat him?’
Raising his other fist to earn a bit more, Anagin threw another punch—
Twitch!
Pain shot through his hand, buried in the Merchant’s gut.
Something had bitten him.
Small serpents under the Merchant’s robe, their mouths blackened and dripping with venom.
Sensing the danger, Anagin swung his arm and threw the Merchant off. The Merchant tumbled across the floor, then scrambled toward a crack in the wall and shoved himself into it, fleeing without a moment’s hesitation.
“Ah, damn it…”
Anagin was about to chase him when dizziness struck, and he stopped mid-step.
The ponytailed man approached him.
“Looks like you got bit pretty bad?”
“Haa… What are you even doing here? I thought you ran off.”
“Ran off? Ouch, that’s harsh… I was just watching from the shadows.”
He said it shamelessly, but Anagin didn’t bother scolding him. They were only temporary companions, after all.
Besides, that wasn’t what mattered right now.
“Where are you going?” the ponytailed man asked as Anagin started moving again.
“He ran, so I’m going after him.”
“The Monster Merchant?”
“Yeah.”
“Do you even know where he went?”
“He’s probably outside eating people.”
The ponytailed man gave him a puzzled look, but Anagin wasn’t just guessing.
A monster that gained a higher rank by consuming humans wouldn’t simply abandon the Ruin Village.
The way he had scattered treasure to lure people, raised orphans, and occasionally devoured them said everything.
Of course, Gigants made better prey, but that didn’t mean he would pass up ordinary humans. If a Gigant was a tonic, then humans were a meal, something to fill his belly and restore his strength.
The ponytailed man frowned, trying to argue.
“That depends on the situation. You just beat him up and he ran away, didn't you? Since he took a hit from your fist, I bet he’s pretty injured.”
“That’s why he’ll try to eat them even more. Because he needs to eat to face me.”
Seeing how he didn’t hesitate to eat Deodia once Deodia could no longer fight, it was clear the Monster Merchant’s real target was Gigants.
To consume the highest-quality Gigant possible. Would a creature like that simply abandon one? No way.
The greed that radiated even beyond his robe wasn’t ordinary.
So his recent retreat wasn’t a simple flight. It was a strategic pullback to go outside and eat people to restore his strength.
“Damn, so the outside must be a mess right now?”
“Well, probably.”
“You’re reacting so calmly?”
“How should I react?” Anagin asked in return.
“I don’t know. If you don’t care, how about just running away instead? There are a lot of capable guys outside; they’ll buy you some time.”
“Why would I run away?”
“You got bit pretty bad, didn’t you?”
Whether through good intuition or observation, the ponytailed man immediately saw through Anagin's condition
The small snake with the black mouth that bit him earlier was no ordinary venomous snake. Anagin knew it instinctively the moment he was bitten.
He’d been poisoned many times in the past by his master. From experience, it felt like he needed at least half a day of rest to recover. But —
“This poison is weak. I can move right away.”
There was no time for that.
The ponytailed man looked impressed.
“Wow… are you just modest, or is that excessive bravado? You said you don’t care about people, so why are you so enthusiastic?”
Enthusiastic? Anagin laughed.
“Do I look like it?”
“Doesn’t it?”
“I’m not here to save people I don’t know. Why would I?”
“Then why?”
“I’m just going to beat the hell out of that bastard beast. It’s what I do well. It’s what I like.”
“Whew~!”
At the blunt answer, the ponytailed man whistled, then pulled a bundle of cloth from his coat and tossed it.
Inside were pieces of fruit that shimmered like gold. They looked like slices of apple.
“That—”
—munch munch.
Before the ponytailed man could explain, Anagin popped a slice into his mouth and chewed.
The ponytailed man scolded, incredulous.
“Do you even know what that is?!”
“A poison antidote? For serpent venom?” Anagin asked as he felt the toxin loosening in his veins.
“Antidote? Right! A rare one at that!! I was just about to brag and explain, but you gobbled it—”
“—You keep the magic staff you grabbed. It looks expensive.”
“Fuck! Thanks! You really leave me nothing to say!!”
“Just lend it to me for a moment.”
“The staff?”
“Yeah. I need it to deal with the serpent bastard. Do you know how to use it?”
* * *
Anagin and the ponytailed man stepped out of the Ruin together, just as they had when they entered.
“Damn, the place is crawling with serpents.”
Anagin spoke as he looked down upon the Ruin Village from the ridge.
Large, medium, and countless small monster snakes were sweeping through the village. People were screaming and running for their lives, and fires, big and small, were breaking out as the tents caught flame.
‘There you are.’
Amidst the chaos, Anagin spotted the Monster Merchant, devouring people brought to him by the serpent monsters. The man prowled through the burning village, desperately swallowing every human his monsters delivered.
“Uh… are you really sure about this?”
The ponytailed man muttered nervously beside him, eyeing the magic staff.
“Are you worried about me?”
“No, I’m worried about the staff. That thing’s infused with powerful Yeom, so it’s not easy to handle. You’d better not break it.”
Yeom, the source of magic.
As the ponytailed man had explained on their way up, magical tools were vessels imbued with Yeom:
The Yeom that desires to fill an object with countless things.
The Yeom that seeks to forge a sharper blade.
The Yeom that yearns to command fierce fire.
And naturally, the stronger the magical tool, the harder it was to control.
The Yeom, within the powerful tools, often tried to defy the wielder’s will.
“In the end, it’s just a tool, right? So, you’re sure I can use it just by thinking?”
“As far as I know.”
The ponytailed man answered and handed the staff to him.
The moment Anagin grasped it with the intent to use it, a strange vibration pulsed from within.
[Do you seek my powe—]
“Oh, shut up. Before I snap you in half.”
(T/N): HAHAHAHAHA
At his curt remark, the staff fell silent, astonishingly obedient.
“Seriously?”
The ponytailed man looked completely dumbfounded. But somehow, it seemed Anagin had done it right.
Once ready, Anagin planted the staff into the ground and pulled out his sling. He loaded a stone, swung it around, and hurled it with full force toward the distant Monster Merchant.
The stone tore through the air with a burst of white shockwaves. The Monster Merchant managed to raise his arm just before it struck, but the impact blew his sleeve apart, along with the mass of serpents underneath.
Fragments of serpentine flesh scattered across the ground.
Anagin waved at him.
“Miss me?”
Then, without hesitation, he leapt down the steep slope, charging straight toward the Monster Merchant.
“You tiresome pest—!”
The Monster Merchant gave an order to one of the giant serpent monsters that had been fighting the butchers earlier, commanding it to attack Anagin.
The creature lunged ferociously.
Anagin snatched a fallen sword from amidst the chaos and slashed through the charging serpent in one clean motion.
“…!”
The Monster Merchant stared in shock at the sight. He was astonished that Anagin could display such skill even with a discarded, cheap blade.
Anagin kept charging, closing the distance.
Feeling the pressure and not yet fully recovered, the Monster Merchant gathered the countless serpents scattered everywhere and sent them all rushing at Anagin at once.
“You’re predictable,” Anagin muttered, waving the magic staff through the air and silently willed it. To sweep the serpent swarm away with fire.
The staff answered Anagin’s will, drawing on the surrounding flames to scour the incoming serpents.
FWARRRR—!
Even though the sun still hung in the sky, the intense blaze drew everyone’s attention and left them stunned.
The one most shocked of all was the Monster Merchant. He looked genuinely surprised that Anagin could handle his own tool so well.
“That’s disappointing. You’re not trying to ignore me, are you?”
Anagin feigned hurt and sent that wave of flame straight at the Monster Merchant.
Just as the great wave of fire was about to swallow him, the serpents gathered around the Monster Merchant surged forward and smashed through the flames head-on.
GEEEEEEEEN—!!
They hadn’t merely grouped together. The large ones formed the skeleton, the medium ones the muscles, and the small ones the skin. Each individual discarded its own self to become a perfect, unified body.
Thanks to that, even the combined flames rising around them were unlikely to burn the Monster Merchant to ash.
“Wow, you are seriously disgustingly ugly.”
Among the stunned onlookers, Anagin remarked on the creature’s grotesque bulk and added one more line.
“Of course, not that it can compete with your real face.”
Perhaps his words hit their mark, because the colossal serpent-monster—its thousands of eyes flashing—charged at Anagin.
Anagin stabbed the staff into the ground, took a two-handed grip on his sword, and swung at the onrushing abomination.
[Vertical Slash]
The sword he’d grabbed earlier caught the setting sunlight, becoming a streak of light that fell in a cutting arc—so sharp it seemed capable of slicing through anything.
But it didn’t cut through. Despite shouting a flashy technique name, he failed.
The Monster Merchant—now a fused mass of serpents—overlaid layer upon layer of serpent-skins to block Anagin’s strike, and then, using those same serpents, tried to coil Anagin up and lift him into the air.
His plan was to lift him into the air and drown him in venom and snakes.
Heavy.
“?”
But something was strange.
Anagin cracked a grin.
“I’m heavier than you thought, aren’t I?”
Indeed.
The Monster Merchant’s combined body—made from hundreds of serpents—couldn’t properly lift Anagin; it trembled, leaving him awkwardly half-hoisted. In that unsteady moment, Anagin raised his bag high into the air.
“I filled this with all the rocks and stones I noticed on the way here.”
With that, he brought the Interspatial Bag crashing down toward the Monster Merchant with all his might.
A shower of flesh-and-blood fireworks exploded.