Anagin Chronicles

Chapter 044. The Boar (3)

Kwaeeeeeek-!!

A massive boar rolled across the ground in agony.

The bandits who saw it were all horrified without exception, especially Paia.

And of course he was—that boar was their secret weapon.

It was the biggest reason Paia and his gang could raid countless travelers and villages and still walk away unharmed.

A boar that strengthened its owner’s body and fought in their place when summoned—it was practically a guardian spirit.

Village militias targeting Paia’s gang, seasoned bounty hunters, suppression forces, even a Gigant or a practitioner—none of them had ever been able to overcome that boar.

All were overwhelmed by its sheer power and size and ended up devoured.

The old man who died recently, and that practitioner's family, were both good examples.

But this man was different.

Anagin, the one known as the “Practitioner Killer.”

He didn’t even flinch when the boar charged at him.

Instead of being surprised, he plunged in as if accustomed to it and cut off one of the boar's legs.

[Trotter Slice]

He shouted the ridiculous technique name as he did.

A blade filled with Energy sliced cleanly through the boar's leg, which was made of Yeom, and the boar, having lost a leg, couldn’t control its momentum and tumbled across the ground.

'This is not the time for this...!'

Paia, who had been blanking out, snapped back to his senses.

He could be shocked later. Now, he had to think and act if he wanted to live.

‘I’ve spent a lot of Energy and Yeom.’

Paia first checked his condition.

He had expended a considerable amount of Energy unleashing Yeom and summoning the boar. At this rate, fighting on would give him little chance of victory.

‘.........Damn it! Am I scared!?’

The moment the word defeat crossed his mind, Paia felt fury and humiliation.

Fortunately, there was still a way.

The boar summon had lost a leg, yes—but it wasn’t over.

He could restore one leg well enough.

‘And I just need to land one clean hit!’

Paia was certain: if he struck Anagin once—just once—while Anagin couldn’t defend or dodge, he could take him down.

Because it was a technique “He” had taught him.

All he needed was time.

Paia snapped his head toward his men and shouted.

“Grab them!”

“E-excuse me...?”

"You idiots! Grab the hostages!!"

Flustered by the urgency, Paia lost what little composure he had.

How could they not understand the situation? Obviously, he meant to take Anagin’s companions as hostages?!

His expression must have given away his thoughts because the bandits finally moved, but it was far too late.

Chop!

Anagin gripped the Beast Cleaver with both hands and, with a single stroke, severed the neck of the thrashing summoned boar.

The summoned boar's weakness must also have been its neck, as it no longer thrashed around.

Instead, its body lost form, turned into smoke, and scattered.

Paia was once again stunned by execution speed far beyond expectations.

Even with one leg gone, he had believed he could at least buy enough time to take a hostage.

Maybe that was why Paia muttered in a dazed voice. Not to stall, but from pure disbelief:

"H-how?"

“Well.”

Anagin answered briefly, lightly.

Then he approached Paia.

The only difference from earlier was that now he approached not quickly, but slowly.

Not like a hunter chasing prey, but like a butcher coming to slaughter livestock.

His attitude was arrogant to the point of insult.

Yet Paia felt fear, not anger.

A bandit famous for his brutality was now frightened of a practitioner who had barely begun his path.

Kuiiiiik-!

Paia transformed, letting out a sound that was neither a roar nor a scream.

From a two-legged human-boar hybrid into a complete beast.

One look was enough to guess its purpose.

“You’re not getting away.”

Anagin used Pa (pa), concentrating Energy into one arm.

Then he used Ek (ek), releasing the focused Energy to capture Paia as he tried to flee.

He had mimicked the Ek that Paia had shown him.

To copy it immediately after seeing it was an astonishing skill. And proof of that was the horrified expression Paia made despite being a boar.

“How?! Don’t tell me you can use all forms of Energy...!”

Paia couldn’t finish his words.

Before he could, Anagin yanked him forward.

Normally, a hastily improvised Ek wouldn’t have been enough to restrain someone like Paia, but this time Paia’s luck had run out.

He had spent significant Energy and Yeom, his form had shifted into a full beast, and reacting properly had become difficult.

And fittingly, Paia was pulled straight toward Anagin.

Anagin clenched his fist and...

[Tusk Crusher]

...punched Paia, who had transformed into a wild boar.

Paia’s tusks shattered and flew into the air, and his transformation unraveled.

Paia reverted into nothing more than an ugly human wearing a boar's hide.

“Ghk......!”

With one tooth completely smashed, Paia crawled across the dirt.

“Hey.”

Anagin lightly brought down the Beast Cleaver toward Paia.

Paia flailed and caught the cleaver with both hands.

“Hrrk...!”

A shrill scream tore from him as the blade loomed before his eyes.

Tak.

Anagin placed his hand on the spine of the blade and slowly increased the force.

As power built, the Beast Cleaver gradually descended.

Even with Paia pushing back with all his strength, its downward speed never changed.

“W-wait a mo....”

Even with one tooth shattered, his words slurring, Paia shouted desperately. Otherwise, the blade would soon cave in his skull.

“Hold, hold on a seghun...!!”

Despite his frantic pleas, the cleaver kept descending, cutting through the boar hide he wore and biting into the forehead beneath.

Jurruk.

Blood ran down Paia’s brow.

Panicking, Paia rolled his eyes wildly and began spitting out anything he could think of.

“I’ll give you my treaju...!”

“I–I’ll teach you the practitioner method-!!”

“Ggaaaah.... Whad do you wandd!?”

His voice grew more frantic.

Before the approaching blade, rational judgment had vanished.

At that moment, Anagin opened his mouth and shattered Paia’s mind back into clarity.

“Whether it’s a two-legged beast or a four-legged one…”

“...?”

“Any beast that ruins the fields is simply killed.”

Thud..

With those words, the descending blade of the Beast Cleaver touched Paia’s skull.

“Gk-!”

The blade didn’t stop.

"Uwaaaaaaak...!!"

* * *

Slowly, but not too slowly.

Paia’s screams rang out, again and again... and then stopped.

The boar hide Paia had been wearing split cleanly in half, falling to the left and right.

A single glance was enough to know it was ruined.

A real shame, honestly.

Magical tools were expensive, and Paia’s boar hide was among the pricey ones.

Not only was inscribing sentience magic no easy task, but—immoral as it was—the hide could be strengthened by feeding it a considerable number of humans, making it valuable on the market.

However, Anagin didn’t find it a shame at all.

Splitting the boar hide alone was satisfying enough for him.

Perhaps that was why Anagin drew in a breath, let it out, and then looked back.

The bandits, who had been grinning as they watched Paia fight just moments before, were now standing stiffly.

...No, correction. They were frozen. As if they wanted to run away but couldn't.

But not all of them.

“D-don’t move a muscle...!”

A bald bandit was holding Sphinx hostage.

His face looked familiar.

Ah. Right.

He was one of the ones who had attacked the Aoi family with Paia.

The man shouted:

“I’ll say it again! Don’t move.... and drop the sword!”

He yelled while trembling, a coward despite his large frame.

Of course, after watching a boar's hide split perfectly in half right before his eyes, one couldn’t blame him entirely, but still.

Anagin wiped the blood from his blade onto his clothes and scolded Sphinx, sounding almost disappointed in her.

"You let yourself be caught?"

Step. Step.

“You’ve got the kids with you.”

Step. Step.

“You could’ve just run with them. Carrying two kids isn’t hard.”

Step. Step.

“D-don’t come any closer....”

Step. Step.

“I’m not strong like you, mister.”

Step. Step.

“Yeah, right.”

Step. Step.

“I—”

—Tak.

Before she noticed, Anagin had already closed the distance.

He grabbed the bandit’s knife, pressing against Sphinx’s neck, and Sphinx quickly covered the children’s eyes.

Then Anagin swung the Beast Cleaver in his other hand.

Seogeok.

A head was severed cleanly without a drop of blood splashing.

Sphinx and the children were freed, while the headless bandit collapsed onto the ground.

Whether he was distracted by Anagin and Sphinx’s casual back-and-forth, or simply terrified, the bandit had lost hold of the hostage he’d desperately clung to.

In any case, the important thing was that the bandits had lost their last hope, the captive, especially after Paia had died.

Clang-!

Some bandits, realizing they had no options left, threw their weapons onto the ground.

A clear sign that they no longer intended to fight, and were begging to be spared.

Honestly, it was smart.

There was no way dozens of bandits could handle the monster who had so easily killed Paia. And escaping wasn’t feasible either.

Surrendering and begging for mercy gave them at least a chance at survival.

They were even prepared to hand over all their loot, the women they’d taken, and if necessary, inside information.......

But the bandits overlooked one simple fact.

If Anagin were the sort to accept money, women, or information and let them live, Paia wouldn’t have died in the first place.

“Do none of you remember what I said?”

“......?”

"I think I said I would kill all of you and leave before fighting Paia."

“......!”

Someone desperately shouted:

"I-it's not necessary to kill everyone!"

"We were just forced to come along!"

One of the women standing nearby shouted.

She was one of the women who had been flattering the bandits just moments ago.

Her attitude of trying to save herself caused the expressions of the surrounding bandits to twist, but they couldn't harm her due to Anagin being in front of them.

Taking this as an opportunity, other women also started shouting.

“We’re not bandits!”

“I was sold here!!”

"It was against my will...!"

As many mouths as there were, there were that many stories.

Just moments ago, these women had been flattering the bandits and cooking, cleaning, and doing chores for them—and now they were defending their innocence.

Sphinx, watching, added a quiet comment.

“They probably really were brought here by force.”

Anagin answered as he always did.

“Don’t care.”

The women trembled.

Anagin clarified for them:

“I’m not interested in you. The only ones I’m interested in are the bandits. All of you, pick up a weapon.”

A few quick-witted women stepped away from the bandits and ran.

The bandits wanted to run too, but couldn’t.

They instinctively knew that the instant they tried to flee, that monster would come for them.

Which left them with only one path.

The bandits picked up the weapons that had fallen to the ground.

“Shit! Shit!”

“Damn it, give me my sword!”

“Damn it! Screw off! Grab anything!”

The bandits who had been singing arm-in-arm moments earlier now fought each other for even slightly better weapons. And in that momentary gap....

Tak.

Anagin slipped in among them without a single warning.

The sound of pigs being butchered rang out once more.