Anagin Chronicles

Chapter 089. The Dolls (5)

The Underground Ruin.

Inside a space reminiscent of a workshop.

A roar that seemed to rattle the bones resounded.

Kuuuung—!!

It sounded as if a battering ram were striking a city gate.

No.

Not “as if”—it was truly the sound of a battering ram smashing against a city gate.

After all, he had struck a shield imbued with the power of a city gate using a human-shaped battering ram made of bronze.

“Ho-oh...!”

Anagin, who had swung the battering ram, let out an involuntary exclamation at the intense vibration transmitted through both hands.

The vibration that made his bones ring and goosebumps rise on his skin started from his hands, traveled up his arms and spine, and finally reached the crown of his head, making his hair stand on end.

It was that tremendous of an impact.

Considering that the bronze statue serving as the battering ram had been crushed in half, it was only natural.

However, unlike the mangled bronze statue, the shield bronze statue appeared perfectly fine on the outside.

‘On the outside....... No, is that even true?’

Anagin thought as he looked at the shield bronze statue standing intact.

Its appearance was as steadfast as before.

Yet there was something different.

The shield bronze statue had taken several steps back.

Until now, no matter what attack it received, it had endured in place, but this time, it had retreated a few steps.

Proof that it had not completely withstood Anagin’s attack and the impact of the battering ram.

‘And I felt the hit.’

Until now, whenever he attacked the shield bronze statue, his strikes had been blocked so completely that he couldn’t properly feel the impact, but this time, with the battering ram, he had clearly felt the blow connect.

Above all, he had a feeling.

The sense that the attack had worked.

The basis for that feeling was the atmosphere the shield bronze statue now exuded—it felt as though it were afraid.

“.......”

Of course, it sounded absurd. A bronze statue feeling fear....

Yet, regardless of logic, Anagin was certain that the shield bronze statue was afraid of him.

It felt as though the unusual gleam in the statue’s eyes carried the emotion of fear.

Anagin smiled at the frightened shield bronze statue, and the statue glared back at him in silence.

In the midst of a silence that felt as brief as an instant yet as long as eternity.

The surrounding bronze statues began charging at Anagin all at once.

The bronze statues formed ranks, thrusting their spears together, while others swung swords and axes, aiming for Anagin’s openings.

It looked less like a fight and more like a hunt for a monster.

During this, the shield bronze statue stepped back.

An action completely opposite to its previous behavior of charging forward boldly, trusting in its absolute defense.

Through that action, the shield bronze statue had effectively admitted its fear.

With no reason left to hesitate, Anagin moved immediately to his next action.

‘What would be a good name for this... Ah!’

[Stomp]

Recalling his battle with Erysichthon, Anagin raised one leg high into the air and slammed it down onto the ground.

It was an imitation of Erysichthon’s technique of shaking the earth using only the strength of his leg. Reinterpreted in Anagin’s own way.

When he brought down his leg imbued with Energy(Γι), the ground cracked and trembled.

The vibration was strong enough to momentarily shake and topple even the heavy bronze statues.

The defensive formation of the bronze statues that had gathered to hunt Anagin broke apart, and even the shield bronze statue, which had been trying to retreat, faltered.

In that instant, Anagin grabbed a fallen bronze statue by the shoulder and waist and lifted it up as if unfolding it.

Under Anagin’s strength, the statue’s body straightened stiffly like a log.

Anagin then drove that bronze statue straight into the shield bronze statue.

Shouting a splendid technique name as he did.

[Battering Ram]

The shield bronze statue combined the two shields it held in both hands to block Anagin’s attack, but just like before, it was pushed back.

“Good. Keep enduring.”

Anagin lifted another bronze statue.

Was it just his imagination, or did the shield bronze statue’s eyes waver?

Just as he was about to drive in another battering ram, the ordinary bronze statues that had fallen rose and interfered with Anagin.

They went beyond thrusting spears and swinging swords and axes—they clung to him with their bodies, trying to restrain him in an unsightly struggle.

Anagin changed the direction of his attack and drove the battering ram into them instead.

After all, weapons (bronze statues) were overflowing in every direction, so there was no problem using them freely.

Just as the battering ram was effective against a city gate, it was effective against bronze statues; the tightly packed statues were knocked down and sent flying in droves.

Anagin picked up one of the less-damaged broken statues and hurled it at the shield bronze statue.

[Battering Ram]

Once again, a bone-rattling vibration spread, and the shield bronze statue was pushed back.

Anagin roughly tore off the rope he had been wearing to hang weapons on his body, then swung it like a whip to latch onto a relatively intact bronze statue and yank it toward him.

Because he had infused it with Energy, the rope did not snap and instead dragged the statue over.

Anagin once again grabbed the statue by the shoulder and waist and thrust it toward the shield bronze statue.

[Battering Ram]

Craaack...!

On the fourth attack, a fine crack formed in the seemingly eternal city gate shield.

Recognizing the crack in the shield, a light flashed in the shield bronze statue’s eyes, and the surrounding bronze statues moved far faster than before, rushing at Anagin.

And instead of fleeing, the shield bronze statue blended in among the others, aiming for an opening.

As if it had realized that now was not the time to retreat, but to fight back.

As the shield bronze statue charged forward, this time Anagin stepped back.

Its intention to use another bronze statue as a shield for attack was obvious—there was no need to play along.

Avoiding the shield bronze statue, Anagin ran toward the Giant’s Bed lying on the ground and examined its condition.

A small crack had formed in the middle of the Giant’s Bed.

Should he? Or not? Anagin pondered inwardly.

Since it was cracked, should he go easy on it? Or should he choose to ‘raise it tough’?

The deliberation didn't last long.

“I’ve decided.”

Anagin picked up the fallen Giant’s Bed and swung it widely.

Moving in a large circular arc, the Giant’s Bed knocked away the bronze statues charging from all directions.

In the meantime, the shield bronze statue merged its two shields into one and thrust toward Anagin.

It was a move one might call a ’city gate shield strike.’

In response, Anagin lifted the Giant’s Bed vertically and thrust it like a spear toward the crack in the city gate shield.

When the cracked Giant’s Bed and the fractured city gate shield collided, a shockwave erupted, pushing away the surrounding bronze statues.

Grrrrrrrr......!

The massive bed and shield, neither able to push the other back, fell into a stalemate, emitting a bizarre grinding sound.

A situation advantageous to the shield bronze statue, which had allies.

At that moment, Anagin raised his hand into the air and shouted.

[Longbald]

At Anagin’s call, a club suddenly appeared out of thin air and landed in his hand.

A club forged from submerged rock, its surface mixed with blue, green, and white.

It was the club refined with the essence of Periphetes the Clubber, an executive of the Forest Brotherhood, and the very club Anagin had taken from him.

‘Especially the last part, that’s what’s important!’

Gripping tightly the club cast with Periphetes’ Energy (Γι), Anagin attempted the technique that had failed earlier. It would be a waste to leave it as a failure.

[Stake Strike]

Come to think of it, was there really any need to use this attack?

Even so, Anagin tried once more.

Call it a man’s stubbornness, confidence that this time he would succeed, or simply the refusal to end in failure.

In any case, for those reasons, Anagin executed Stake Strike once more.

Kuuiung─!

This time, it succeeded.

The Giant’s Bed, positioned precisely at the point of fracture, dug into the shield’s crack and tore open a massive hole.

The city gate shield was left with a gaping hole as though pierced by a battering ram.

The Giant’s Bed did not stop there; as if settling an old grudge, it smashed through the shield and struck the bronze statue’s body behind it, splitting it cleanly in two.

The shield bronze statue was destroyed so thoroughly that it felt refreshing.

“Hmm?”

From the shattered shield bronze statue, two strange lights burst forth as if exploding outward.

One came from the city gate shield, and the other from the body of the shield bronze statue.

The light from the city gate shield settled into the Giant’s Bed, while the light from the shield bronze statue’s body settled into Anagin.

At the same time, the surrounding bronze statues collapsed where they stood.

“What the fuck?”

Faced with the sudden, unexpected turn of events, Anagin cursed without thinking. What the hell was going on?

Could it be that defeating the shield bronze statue caused the other bronze statues to fall as well? Why such an irrational structure.......

That wasn’t the only question.

What exactly was that mysterious light?

“It seems like Yeom, Brother.”

“Yeom?”

“It happens sometimes. When a magical tool destroys another magical tool, there are cases where it absorbs the magic imbued within it....”

“Ho-oh.... But when I split the bronze club in two with Beast Cleaver, it didn’t seem like this happened?”

Anagin mentioned his past battle with Periphetes the Clubber.

He wasn’t arguing, but that situation had been similar.

Back then, Beast Cleaver had dug into the crack of Periphetes’ bronze club and split it in half. If that were the case, light should have emerged then, too, and settled into Beast Cleaver.

“I said sometimes. There are cases when it doesn’t happen. I don’t know the exact principle either.”

Sphinx speculated about possible principles—such as the level of magic imbued in the magical tool or the tool’s inherent properties—but explained that the exact reason had not yet been discovered.

Anagin did not press further. He wasn’t curious enough to interrogate every detail.

Absorbing the Yeom imbued in a magical tool couldn’t be a bad thing, so he let it pass for now.

“More importantly, what’s the light that settled into my body? Does it sometimes settle into a person, too?”

Sphinx pondered with a serious expression, then spoke after a moment.

“I don’t really know either.”

* * *

I don’t really know either.

After putting on airs so seriously, Sphinx said exactly that.

When Anagin looked at her with eyes full of disappointment, Sphinx, as if she had something to say in her defense, added,

“Sorry, but I don’t actually know that much about Ruins. I studied them on my own, sure, but this is my first time entering one in person.... Honestly, I’m not even that sorry.”

“I’d prefer it if you were.”

“Sorry, but shut up, Brother.”

Sphinx spat out a completely unprincipled line—apologizing while cursing him out.

When they had first met, she didn’t seem this bad. His heart ached, wondering who in the world had turned Sphinx into this.

Which evil bastard?

Seriously, which evil bastard.... Ah, was it me?

“You’re thinking something rude, aren’t you?”

“You can read my mind?”

A true heart-to-heart.

Anagin was moved by the fact that they were so in sync, while Sphinx looked at him with eyes tinged with contempt.

“Haa.... Anyway, I have heard of people obtaining blessings in this kind of way.”

Sphinx explained that there were cases where one gained a blessing after defeating a powerful enemy in a Ruin or discovering a hidden chest.

Boxes, gold coins, pouches.... The forms of acquisition varied, but the blessing would settle into the body in the form of light.

“Then isn’t this a blessing too?”

“I don’t think it’s a blessing. The feeling is different.”

“The feeling, huh.... In the first place, what’s the difference between blessing and magic?”

Anagin brought up a personal curiosity.

It had been a question he’d kept in his heart because he never had the chance to ask, but he took the opportunity now.

After all, wasn’t it a bit ambiguous?

Blessings such as farsight that magnified one’s vision far into the distance, or those that controlled fire and wind, had aspects similar to magic.

If one learned magic that enhanced eyesight, or flame magic, or wind magic, wouldn’t the effects be similar?

After seeing the New Argonaut Expedition Team, Anagin had harbored that very doubt.

What exactly was the difference between blessing and magic?

“I don’t know exactly either.”

“What?”

“I mean it. I’ve researched it, but I couldn’t figure out the precise difference between blessing and magic. There is a difference, but fundamentally, they feel the same.”