Anagin Chronicles

Chapter 070. Beyond the Heavens (4)

Bang—!

The blazing club, also known as Longbald.

Anagin poured a massive amount of Energy(Γι) into the already fiercely flaming Longbald, and an explosion erupted.

It wasn't just any explosion; it was large enough to swallow Erysichthon’s giant body.

Sizzle!

From the impact of the explosion, Erysichthon lost his grip on the club, and his palm suffered a light singe. Though it healed almost immediately.

“You little—”

Thunk—Bang!

While Erysichthon was speaking, Anagin smashed his knee with Longbald.

Thanks to Erysichthon being a monster over three meters tall, it wasn’t difficult.

“You—while I’m talking!”

Fuming more over having his speech cut off than the hit itself, Erysichthon swung his arms in retaliation.

Anagin dodged and struck the club again, in the exact same spot as before.

Thunk—Bang!

The strike of the blunt weapon flared into fire, engulfing Erysichthon once more.

Finally, Erysichthon realized what Anagin was aiming for.

“Just like a little brat, you fight dirty!!”

Erysichthon lifted his foot and stomped the ground with all his might.

His intention was to shake the very foundations of the earth and break Anagin’s balance.

In response, Anagin also struck the ground with his club, just as Longbald had done.

Boom—Crash!

The shockwaves collided simultaneously, and, astonishingly, canceled each other out.

“…!”

This time, Erysichthon looked genuinely surprised.

Regardless, Anagin stayed focused on attacking. As soon as the shockwaves neutralized each other, he struck Erysichthon’s knee again.

A powerful blow surged from Erysichthon’s knee, triggering another explosion that engulfed him.

Yet Erysichthon, as if unfazed, swung the hit leg and kicked Anagin away.

Anagin nearly flew far back but forcibly gripped the ground with his hands to stay grounded.

“Ha! Quite a remarkable little fellow.”

Erysichthon dusted off his knees after being hit three times in a row and marvelled.

For a young lad who appeared to be barely in his twenties to return and challenge him again after being kicked was no ordinary grit.

Even more remarkable was his abnormal endurance.

The “Exploding Club” Anagin had crafted with the help of the New Argonaut Expedition Team seemed like a good weapon at first glance, but nothing in the world comes free.

It was a double-edged sword. Erysichthon suffered direct attacks, yes, but Anagin kept taking damage too.

With massive explosions happening right beside him, it was a wonder he remained unharmed.

Yet, he endured the blasts and continued swinging Longbald.

But the most astonishing thing came next.

“Hey, brat.”

“What’s up, old man?”

Erysichthon laughed at Anagin’s reply while twisting the gem on his necklace to restore his clothes.

“Gwahaha! I’ve been wondering for a while, that club, it belongs to Peripoopoo, right?”

He asked about the original owner of the club in Anagin’s hands.

Snap. Anagin knew exactly who the absurdly named Peripoopoo was.

“Yeah.”

“How did you take it?”

“Because I’m awesome.”

An object materialized through Forging is the essence of Energy(Γι) inside a Gigant. It wasn't something that could be taken just because one wanted to.

Erysichthon asked how such an abnormal thing was possible from a common-sense perspective, and Anagin offered the nonsensical answer: "Because I’m awesome."

At this moment, it could be called Anagin’s victory.

“Gwahahahaha!”

Erysichthon also acknowledged this and decided to act nonsensically. After all, those called practitioners were nonsensical beings to begin with!

“First, take a hit!”

Erysichthon moved with a speed that defied his giant stature and reached Anagin.

It was a speed faster than the blink of an eye. His posture was already set to throw a punch.

Anagin raised Longbald to attempt a defense, and then—Bang!—it exploded.

To clarify, Longbald was not an object that caused an explosion every time a collision occurred.

It was simply that Tramachus of the New Argonaut Expedition Team had planted a spark, and Thyreos had reinforced it. The explosion occurred thanks to the Energy projected by Anagin.

The reason it exploded every time he swung was that Anagin projected Energy whenever he hit, meaning that if Anagin wished, an explosion might not occur.

Nevertheless, the reason an explosion happened during the defense was that Anagin wanted to cause an explosion.

To start a brawl.

When the vision was briefly obscured by the explosion, Anagin, who had been sent flying by the punch, charged again and struck Erysichthon’s knee.

It wasn't an easy task, but since Anagin became ten times more diligent than usual when hitting someone, it wasn't impossible.

Anagin struck Erysichthon’s knee again and again, to a degree that could be called obsessive.

Knowing this, Erysichthon focused his defense on his knees while facing Anagin.

He would sharpen his nails to fire slashes, or create a whirlwind with his massive legs to launch him into the air before throwing a punch, or grab him and hurl him to the ground.

Every time an attack landed, Anagin would fly away vomiting blood, but he never collapsed and kept lunging like a mad dog.

Erysichthon, who initially faced him with a playful feeling, gradually began to get annoyed, and at the same time, a question arose.

How can he keep lunging like this?

It wasn't that the attacks weren't working.

The attacks were landing properly, and the corresponding damage was accumulating.

Nevertheless, Anagin was enduring and continuing to challenge him.

It was as if whenever the water called life was about to drain from a jar, someone was narrowly filling it back up.

Anagin was continuing to lunge in that precarious state.

Even so, there were walls that could not be climbed.

Erysichthon took a wide swing with his punch, aiming for Anagin.

Realizing that Anagin wasn't just defending but parrying the attacks, Erysichthon added sharpness to his crude fist and threw a punch. As if to cut down any petty tricks.

Thung!

He thought it would surely explode this time, too, but the club did not explode.

Not only did it not explode, but it flew far away.

It wasn't that Anagin had gripped it to the end and endured; he had let it go.

Having become empty-handed, Anagin slid underneath Erysichthon, then grabbed the knee he had been striking until now and tried to lift him up to knock him over.

Erysichthon thought he was a madman.

Did he really think he could beat him with strength? It was absurd.

Behold, Anagin only clung to Erysichthon’s leg like a child facing an adult, unable to push him back even an inch.

Just like this, he would trample him—

“UAAAAAH!!”

As Anagin grabbed Erysichthon’s leg and pushed with all his might while shouting, the leg, like an old tree, moved bit by bit and was then lifted from the ground.

As one leg was suddenly lifted, Erysichthon lost his balance and fell.

“Heh….”

As his back hit the ground, Erysichthon let out a sound half in surprise and half in admiration.

[Longbald]

At his command, Longbald, which had flown through the air, returned to Anagin’s hand.

The club, once known as Periphetes the Clubber, now called Longbald in Anagin’s hands, blazed fiercely.

Anagin struck Erysichthon’s head with both hands and shouted.

“Now!”

The moment Longbald struck Erysichthon’s head, an intense explosion erupted. Sphinx and Irida simultaneously used wind magic and wind blessings, generating a massive tornado around Anagin.

The whirlwind was so powerful it could have been called a barrier, sucking in the surrounding air and forming a towering pillar of red flames.

The higher it rose, the fiercer the tornado became, devouring everything nearby.

And as it consumed more, the fire inside grew stronger, scorching everything trapped within.

Yet, amidst this raging inferno, Anagin remained unburned.

He was burning, yes, but he endured thanks to the Gigant’s unique vitality and regeneration, continuing to strike down at Erysichthon, who was trapped below him.

“…………!!!”

Within the flames that could ignite the very air, Anagin let out a silent scream, relentlessly pounding Erysichthon beneath him.

There was no way he didn’t feel the burning pain coursing through his entire body, but he had endured this much before during sparring with his master.

More importantly, he knew that if he didn’t endure this, he wouldn’t be able to kill the monster beneath him. With that certainty, he continued swinging Longbald despite the searing agony.

Then—

“Fwah!”

Amid the fire that burned even sound, a strange suction sound could be heard.

It came from Erysichthon’s mouth.

How did he know?

Because Anagin saw with his own eyes Erysichthon opening his mouth and sucking in the fiery tornado that enveloped both of them.

It sounded insane, but there was no other way to describe it.

Through the wide-open maw of Erysichthon, the flames and wind were entirely sucked in.

Startled, even Anagin’s Longbald strikes paused for a moment amid the flames.

But he quickly regained focus, readying Longbald for another blow—just as Erysichthon raised his index finger toward him.

“Bang!”

A burst of flames, condensed like the tornado itself, erupted from Erysichthon’s fingertip, striking Anagin with incredible force.

It was so fierce that the flames possessed physical force, launching Anagin high into the sky. The heat was also so intense that Anagin, suffering from severe burns, flew high and fell onto the ground.

For a moment, his vision turned white.

When his sight returned, Sphinx had approached his side, shouting to ask if he was okay, and Erysichthon was standing back up.

-I told you it would be hard, didn't I?

Even in this struggle, a familiar “voice” rang out.

The same annoying voice he’d heard since the plague.

-If you ask for help even now, just say the word, and I will help you.

“…Damn.”

-At this rate, not only you but everyone here will die. This time too, no one will—

“Fuck… off!”

While Sphinx, Sanchonius, Irida, and the siblings Kori and Pais gathered around Anagin, asking if he was alright, Anagin shouted "Fuck off" at the top of his lungs.

Although the words were meant for the voice, not for them, but nonetheless, everyone fell silent.

“Haah…! Hah…! Who can’t do what…! You, who can’t do anything except talk, just stay in your corner and watch!!”

It was a harsh thing to say to the people who had rushed over in worry, but the Sphinx and the others showed signs of relief rather than anger or hurt.

Though he was visibly exhausted and in pain, Anagin’s fighting spirit remained unbroken.

He forced his legs, ready to collapse at any moment, to stand upright, still gripping Longbald in his hands.

Just as he lunged at Erysichthon again, the monster asked,

“Brat. This… is it yours?”

Erysichthon asked while holding a gold nugget that was tiny compared to his hand. Between Erysichthon's thumb and index finger, the gold nugget shimmered.

It was the gold his master had given him when Anagin left. It seemed to have fallen out during the fight.

“Yeah, it’s mine. Give it back.”

Even in a near-death state, Anagin demanded it boldly. Whether he liked it or not, his master was his master, and getting robbed of a gift his master gave him was too embarrassing.

Erysichthon looked at him with a complex expression, different from before.

“Huh… this…”

He couldn't even bring himself to speak easily, quite unlike his usual self.

Just as he seemed about to say something, a colossal arrow, pillar-like in size, appeared before Erysichthon’s body.

Kwagwagwagwang!

Its force was closer to a siege weapon than a normal projectile.

Erysichthon dodged at a speed incomparable to when facing Anagin.

From nowhere, a new man appeared in the air—a lightly dressed figure with multiple spears on his back.

“Brother?”

Tramachus exclaimed in surprise.

The man called “brother” appeared midair, hurling a spear imbued with intense Energy(Γι) at Erysichthon.

Erysichthon tried to dodge again, but another spear shot from somewhere and struck both his calves.

His legs were bound.

Erysichthon twisted his body, but a spear pierced his shoulder.

The body of Erysichthon, which had been fine even inside the firestorm, was finally wounded.

Then, another massive pillar-like arrow struck Erysichthon, hitting him hard.

He was slammed backward, rolling across the ground like during a hunt.

“Sister.”

Irida said, looking at a red-haired woman who appeared from somewhere.

Her sister, Atalanta, the Great Warrior.

And the man who was Tramachus’s brother—likely Meleager the Immortal.

Indeed. The real Argonaut Expedition Team had finally arrived on the scene.