Anagin Chronicles

Chapter 087. The Dolls (3)

The first one the bronze statue pierced was the crossbowman.

The one who had hidden under invisibility and aimed for Anagin’s back.

His name was Anosis, and his nickname was “the Vile.”

Anosis the Vile.

It might have been an excessive nickname, but despite being a Gigant, he favored a crossbow and delighted in ambushes using an invisibility bracelet obtained from the Ruin, which was how he came to be called that.

On top of that, he possessed a blessing that allowed him to create poison on his arrows, cementing his reputation as vile.

However, regardless of the nickname, no one underestimated Anosis’s skill.

At least, not in this area.

Though his close-combat ability was lacking due to his crossbow being his main weapon, that conversely meant he excelled in crossbow usage, concealment, and ambush.

Moreover, he handled Eul (εὐ), the technique of imbuing arrows with Energy(Γι), with exceptional skill, so most practitioners were struck down without even catching sight of him.

Before they could detect the ambush, an Energy(Γι)-infused arrow would already have pierced their bodies.

Anagin’s reflexes in responding to the ambush—and the Giant’s Bed blocking the arrow—were what lay beyond common sense.

In any case, the point was that aside from being futilely stopped by Anagin, the crossbowman was a well-regarded practitioner in this region.

A born hunter who had slain monsters, beasts, and villains alike.

And yet, that reputation proved meaningless as his body was impaled with absurd ease by a spear.

By a slow-moving bronze statue, no less.

“Ghk…!”

But it was unavoidable.

Right after Neiron, the Miscellaneous Doll mage had disgorged multiple dolls, and all the bronze statues began moving at once, attacking from every direction, making it difficult to evade.

As proof, not only the crossbowman but everyone else suffered injuries, large and small.

From the spears, swords, and axes raining down from all sides.

“Y-you damned—!”

The practitioners resolved to yield what they must under the barrage but protect their vital points at all costs.

Amidst them, only three remained unharmed: Neiron inside his doll, Anagin with his massive shield (the Giant’s Bed), and Sphinx perched on Anagin’s shoulder.

“It seems the bronze statues move in proportion to the number of intruders in the corridor.”

Perhaps feeling guilty about receiving protection for free, Sphinx explained the mechanism without being asked.

It was a conjecture, but a plausible one.

The statues had begun moving the moment Neiron summoned his dolls.

They must certainly be reacting to the numbers.

‘They’re slow, but their coordination’s quite good?’

Anagin assessed the statues’ movements.

They were slow, but numerous, and worked well together.

Even though Anagin blocked every attack with the Giant’s Bed and his massive hammer…

Rumble—!

The bronze statues poured force into their weapons, pressing down on Anagin to restrict his movements.

This wasn’t simple magic instructing them to attack the enemy before them; it was magic that responded systematically.

Anagin wasn’t a mage, but he could tell this was no ordinary spell.

GROOOAAAR—!!

The dolls summoned by Neiron rampaged despite being skewered by dozens of spears.

They were dolls, after all—they felt no pain.

Even though the bronze statues were quite heavy, as the dolls began to run wild in earnest, the statues were flung away like straw dolls.

‘So it wasn’t nonsense that he’s stronger than the New Argonaut Expedition Team?’

Watching the dolls’ performance, Anagin gauged Neiron’s level.

They weren’t just large—they were powerful.

And judging by how they kept moving despite continuous attacks, their durability was impressive as well.

Using that strength and durability, the dolls rampaged and created cracks in the bronze statues’ formation, which Neiron’s allies exploited.

“Aaaagh—!”

A practitioner wielding a magic axe leapt between the statues and swung wildly.

The enchanted axe split bronze like firewood, and the others joined in, opening a path.

Neiron’s group slowly began to gain momentum.

Yet as if mocking them, the bronze statues adapted.

Clack! Clack! Clack!!

The shield-bearing statues locked shoulders and formed a shield wall.

As the shields clustered together, their defensive power seemed to rise proportionally—magic axes were deflected, and even the dolls’ body slams were withstood.

“A magic shield?!”

The axe-wielding practitioner muttered in shock.

In that formation, the statues thrust their spears again.

Driven back once more, the practitioners shouted for Neiron to do something, but his situation was no easier.

Even his dolls struggled to break the shield wall, and even when they did, other statues swarmed like ants from behind and chopped them apart.

It seemed they had realized that slicing was more effective than stabbing against dolls.

After a valiant struggle, Neiron’s party was pushed back again.

Ironically, Anagin—who had focused solely on defense—found the pressure on him relatively eased.

The statues that had been restraining him shifted toward Neiron’s side.

Seizing the opening, Anagin swung the Giant’s Bed and hammer in wide arcs, sending the bronze statues flying.

BOOM—!

The heavy statues crashed into one another and toppled in a tangled heap with a thunderous noise.

Freed from the pressure, Anagin moved forward.

Taking advantage of the statues’ attention being fixed on Neiron’s party.

“Don't run away!! You cowardly bastard!!”

Anagin ignored the nonsense.

This wasn’t cowardice—it was intelligence. And he wasn’t running away; he was simply continuing on his path.

Come to think of it, why bother fighting every bronze statue one by one?

Just as he was about to leave—

Ratatatatat—!

A low, unpleasant skittering sound echoed, and something darted over Anagin’s head.

It was the Burrowing Worm.

Neiron’s Burrowing Worm sprinted across the ceiling using multiple insect-like legs.

Hadn’t it originally lacked legs? Had they sprouted?

“Hey, you son of a—!”

A moment later, curses filled with resentment rang out from the practitioners.

As the situation worsened, Neiron had abandoned his allies and fled alone.

The dolls that had fought desperately fell silent like puppets with cut strings, and the bronze statues began focusing their attacks on the practitioners.

Meanwhile, Neiron’s Burrowing Worm doll had already gone far ahead.

“Don't run away!! You cowardly bastard!!”

Anagin shouted at Neiron, who was fleeing alone in cowardice.

[O Wind, push them back]

While Anagin shouted, Sphinx conjured a gale centered around her, driving the bronze statues away.

The gust was stronger than expected, pushing them back quite a distance.

“You said you hated fighting.”

“Using magic on dolls that aren’t even alive isn’t fighting.”

That’s logical?

Anagin was impressed for a moment.

Sphinx continued,

“And I’ve grown curious, too. I want to see what’s inside this Ruin for myself.”

Sphinx, who had stood aloof, now sounded proactive.

“If those people die, they’ll focus entirely on you. Let’s hurry before that.”

Without being asked, Sphinx made the optimal judgment.

Anagin agreed.

Before Anagin could even give an order, Sphinx chanted toward the front.

[O Wind, open the way]

The air along the elongated corridor formed a single current, spreading into a wall of wind that parted left and right.

Was it his imagination, or had the power increased?

The bronze statues were pushed to the left and right, and a path was created.

Perfectly in sync.

Anagin dashed straight forward along the opened path of wind.

Holding the Giant’s Bed and the hammer in both hands.

Though they weren’t particularly heavy for a Gigant like Anagin, Sphinx seemed dissatisfied and used wind magic to indirectly lighten their weight, wrapping wind around Anagin’s body to let him move faster.

“Hoh…!”

Wind wrapped around his legs, waist, torso, arms—an odd sensation that drew an exclamation from Anagin.

His body felt lighter.

Not stopping at just the feeling, Anagin moved even faster and soon caught up with the Burrowing Worm that was moving unpleasantly along the ceiling.

‘No… more like a Burrowing Centipede?’

It looked closer to a centipede than a worm.

Seizing the moment, Neiron noticed Anagin gaining on him and spat out a small rabbit from the worm’s maw.

A rabbit doll with bombs strapped to its body.

Multiple self-destructing rabbits bounded toward Anagin.

Though the corridor was wide, it was still a confined space—there was little room to evade.

When there’s no room to evade, what do you do?

The answer was to abandon evasion and attack.

You take a hit, I take a hit.

Anagin hurled his hammer at the Burrowing Worm with all his strength.

[Hammer Throw]

Perhaps shouting the technique name helped, because the thrown hammer struck the swiftly moving worm.

Though it only crushed part of its rear body, its mobility dropped significantly.

Hop! Hop!

Meanwhile, the self-destructing rabbits reached right in front of Anagin and exploded at his nose.

BOOM—!

Anagin was shocked.

The rabbits’ explosive power was stronger than expected.

And yet, the corridor did not collapse. It was incredibly sturdy.

More astonishing was that the wind barrier Sphinx had erected completely blocked the explosion.

“It seems your magic feels stronger. Is it?”

“I… don't know either!”

Sphinx shouted, sounding surprised herself.

Pushing through the black smoke, Anagin saw the Burrowing Worm flung far ahead by the blast’s propulsion.

It exited the long corridor and entered a vast open space.

Even as its crushed rear writhed desperately, Anagin’s fleeting admiration quickly cooled.

It was a doll. It felt no pain.

His impression faded, replaced instead by curiosity.

‘If I smash that doll to pieces, what happens to Neiron who is inside?’

The Burrowing Worm was a doll made by modifying an Interspatial Bag.

If it were shattered completely, what would happen to Neiron?

Would he die? Disappear? Or be transported elsewhere to begin a second life?

To find out, Anagin retrieved his fallen hammer and swung it again.

Target: the Burrowing Worm!

With one side of its body crushed, its mobility was no longer enough to evade Anagin’s attack.

Just before it was completely pulverized, it spat something out.

It was Neiron, the Miscellaneous Doll mage.

* * *

Ptui!

With a sickening sound, Neiron spat himself out.

He was a short man.

A thick cloak was wrapped around his body, and his refined features made him look like someone who would enjoy playing with dolls.

“I have a proposal.”

Just as Anagin was about to follow up with another strike, Neiron suddenly spouted some nonsense.

Anagin decided to at least hear him out. He was curious what kind of nonsense it would be.

“Tell me what you want. I’ll accommodate you as much as possible. Just stop interfering with me.”

“You’re saying that after attacking first?”

Anagin was dumbfounded.

He shot a poisoned arrow at someone who was simply walking along, and now he was making an offer like that. Clearly, he had no conscience.

“I didn’t shoot that. Anosis did.”

Anosis, the crossbowman.

“More importantly, you were the one who attacked first.”

Unable to let it slide, Neiron resentfully brought up the incident of Anagin destroying the dam.

How long ago was that!

But Anagin’s response far exceeded Neiron’s expectations.

“It’s fine when I do it, but not when you do.”

He was lenient with himself and strict with others.

It was a level of shamelessness that even Sphinx found appalling.

Neiron barely suppressed the rage boiling up inside him.

“I’m not joking…!”

“Neither am I.”

“I don’t have time to play with you!!”

Having reached his limit, Neiron created a sphere of light, illuminating the surroundings.

At the end of the corridor lay a vast open space.

It was some kind of workshop.

A massive workshop, larger even than the forge at Chiron Tower.

It seemed to be a place where bronze statues were made.

Half-finished bronze statues stood here and there, and ingots of bronze—presumably their raw material—were stacked nearby.

Not just bronze. There were metal ingots, and golden ingots tinged with red… Orichalcum as well.

The very reason Anagin had come here.

As if reading his thoughts, Neiron made his offer.

“I have no interest in those, so take them all if you want.”

He spoke sincerely.

Ordinarily, he would have claimed those as well, but given the circumstances, he was willing to concede.

And his next words were just as sincere.

“But if you continue to pester me beyond this point, I won’t stay idle either.”

His resolve was unmistakable. Even to Sphinx, it didn’t sound like an empty threat.

Considering Anagin’s purpose for coming here, it wasn’t a bad offer.

Given his personality, he might accept.

Though Anagin appeared combative, he also knew when to withdraw.

However, Sphinx felt there was more to consider.

For a greedy mage to so readily give up not just bronze and iron, but Orichalcum as well, meant there was something of even greater value here.

Sphinx wanted to know what that was.

Instinct told her it was connected to the peculiar atmosphere of this Ruin.

She was about to persuade Anagin, but Anagin spoke first. He had already made his decision.

“I refuse.”

“…?!”

“I have a bit of a temperament where if someone tells me to do something, I want to do the exact opposite.”

“That just makes you a terrible person…”

Sphinx gasped.

Ignoring her, Anagin continued.

“Especially against someone who’s planning to stab me in the back.”

Neiron flinched.

He had indeed summoned reinforcements, intending to assess the situation and attack Anagin once they arrived.

He wanted to ask how he knew—but stopped himself.

The outcome would be the same regardless.

Neiron reached into his cloak and pulled out a doll.

It was a type of Interspatial Bag that could store items, an Interspatial Cloak.

What emerged was a doll made from a practitioner’s corpse.

Compared to the previous ones, its design was fairly ordinary… aside from the fact that Orichalcum blades were embedded into both its arms and legs.

Neiron declared confidently,

“Do you know why I’m called Miscellaneous Doll Neiron?”

“Not interested.”

“Because not a single person who has seen my true doll has survived.”

Unasked, Neiron answered himself as he set the doll in motion.

The blade-limbed doll gracefully rose from its crouched position like a dancer.

A sinister aura spread from it.

At that moment—

Boom!

Something flew in from afar and landed directly behind Neiron.

It was a bronze statue.

To be precise, it was a bronze statue finished with Orichalcum.

Larger than the statues they had seen in the corridor, it held in each hand a massive shield resembling a city gate.

Clang!

Intimidated by the shield-bearing statue, Neiron made the first move.

The doll was so fast that it struck the statue’s neck without giving it a chance to defend.

But it was meaningless.

The shield statue’s neck remained perfectly intact.

As if it had taken no damage at all.

In that state, the statue clashed the gate-like shields mounted on its arms together.

Crunch!

Neiron and his doll were crushed flat between them