Chapter 16

Chapter 16: Beast Spawn (2)

The moment he struck the flint, flames bloomed at the center of the underground chamber.

By the standards of the vast cavern, it was a small fire.

But it wasn't meaningless.

Startled by the sudden heat and light, the Serpents drew back, and the regular, current-like movement broke apart.

Proof that they had slipped free of the Monster Merchant's control.

Anagin adjusted his grip on his sword and swept the flat of the blade through the flames, sending the burning Serpents inside flying in every direction.

The burning Serpents landed on oil and caught fire again, and before long, flames were leaping up all across the underground.

"Ah, now I can actually see properly."

The cavern shimmered with heat and light.

Standing at its center, Anagin spoke while looking at the Monster Merchant.

The Monster Merchant's robe fluttered as he asked, "Is this fireplay... the source of your confidence?"

"Who needs confidence to kill a beast that tramples a field? More importantly—"

Anagin broke off mid-sentence and kicked one of the burning Serpents on the ground, launching it at the Monster Merchant.

The Monster Merchant raised his arm to block the suddenly flying Serpent corpse, and using that opening, Anagin charged in to cut him down.

As if he'd expected it, the Monster Merchant moved his arm, and two large Monster Serpents erupted from the ground and blocked Anagin's path.

Anagin jumped, cut the head off one of the lunging Serpents, then stomped the other one's head to pulp.

It was only a moment, but it cost him time.

When he turned his gaze back to the Monster Merchant, the man was pulling something out from inside his robe as if coughing it up.

It was a staff.

A staff made of walnut wood tinged with red. Its surface gleamed smooth, and at its tip was a fist-sized Ruby.

Anagin kicked off the ground, closing the distance, and thrust his sword at the Monster Merchant's head.

The blade flew, flashing.

Serpents burst out from under the Monster Merchant's robe, forming layer upon layer of flesh shields that deflected Anagin's blade aside.

Then he leveled the staff at Anagin.

"How pathetic."

Flames gathered and coalesced around the staff, then surged up like a pillar of fire and struck Anagin.

Fwahahahak—!

The condensed and fired flames blasted Anagin away with tremendous force, and the Monster Merchant called out to him as he flew.

"Did you think none of the others I've faced played with fire?"

"Don't know. I'm not interested in you enough to care."

Anagin, who had been blown back by the pillar of fire, stood right back up and answered.

He brushed off his burned shirt as if nothing had happened. On the bare skin revealed underneath, there wasn't a single trace of a burn.

He'd healed it instantly with the Giant's innate recovery. But even accounting for that, it was an incredible level.

"Burns don't heal well, as a rule. Your recovery is quite good."

"My only bragging points are my strength, my sturdy body, and my handsome face. Unlike you."

"I'll grant you your joke-telling ability too. It's not funny, though."

"Haha, I wasn't joking?"

Anagin's laugh faded into a straight face.

He continued while loosening up his body.

"Sure, I get it. Unlike me, you've got no strength, a weak body, and an ugly face—so I suppose things aren't fun for you."

The Monster Merchant said nothing. It was as if he was admitting Anagin's words were true.

"How do I know? I can tell just by looking. Just from the way you only give orders to Monsters from a distance and use fun little toys, you're basically announcing, 'I'm a weakling~'"

"......"

"The ugly face part—did I mention that earlier? Can you not tell just from the way you've got your whole body wrapped up in that robe?"

"...Is that all you have to say?"

"Oho, when an unfavorable topic comes up, your voice drops—is that your specialty? Not scary at all. What are you gonna do about that?"

Anagin snickered and mocked the Monster Merchant.

The Monster Merchant forced himself to ignore it and swung the staff in his hand.

As the staff moved, the surrounding flames followed, taking the shape of a giant Serpent.

"You really have no creativity. No other design besides a Serpent?"

As Anagin said that, he grabbed the bottom of his subspace bag and swung it with all his might.

The subspace bag, which spat out whatever object he wanted when he wanted it, vomited out all manner of weapons just as Anagin intended.

Spears, axes, swords, daggers, clubs—loot from Diodia's gang picked up along the way.

The countless weapons, propelled by the bag's centrifugal force, flew in a straight line toward the Monster Merchant.

The Monster Merchant blocked the incoming weapons with the Serpent made of flame and shouted,

"Have you no other tricks yourself?!"

"This is plenty."

Anagin tossed Bander's sword into the air, then kicked it as he answered.

He placed his foot gently against the flat of the blade and kicked with all his strength—the blade flew off with a flash, sliced through the body of the flame Serpent, and struck the flame staff beyond it.

Tang—!

Bander's sword and the flame staff collided with a ringing note.

He'd kicked it meaning to cut the staff in two, but the staff wasn't cut—it merely flew from the Monster Merchant's hand.

What broke instead was Bander's sword.

"Damn, that's sturdy."

Anagin was impressed. He'd meant to cut it and failed.

In any case, the moment the Monster Merchant lost hold of the staff, the flames slipped free of his control.

Anagin didn't miss that opening and ran at the Monster Merchant again.

The Monster Merchant sent out Serpents to retrieve the staff.

Just as the Monster Merchant was about to grab the staff a beat faster—

"Eeyaaaaaaaah—!!!"

Ponytail, appearing suddenly from somewhere, let out a battle cry and snatched the staff first.

"What?!"

The Monster Merchant was startled by the sudden interloper.

Anagin was just as startled, but for now, he decided to focus on the Monster Merchant.

First things first—beating that bastard to death took priority.

Anagin kicked off the ground, closed the distance to the Monster Merchant, and drove his fist into the man's gut.

Puhk—!

'That felt wrong.'

When you punch something, there should be the feeling of something breaking or crumpling, but with the Monster Merchant, that sensation was faint.

Something firm yet soft, layer upon layer of it, absorbed the impact.

But put the other way, it also meant he'd taken some degree of damage.

"Kueeeek—!"

Through the gap beneath the robe where his face was hidden, the Monster Merchant retched.

Astonishingly, what he vomited wasn't today's lunch but glittering gold and jewels.

'What the hell is this guy? Does he pay out money when you hit him?'

Anagin raised his other fist to earn some more money.

Twinge—!

Pain shot through the fist embedded in the Monster Merchant's abdomen.

Something had bitten his fist.

They were the small snakes beneath the Monster Merchant's robe, their mouths stained black.

Sensing something was badly wrong, Anagin swung his arm and flung the Monster Merchant away, and the Monster Merchant tumbled across the ground before scrambling straight into a crevice in the wall, folding his body in and fleeing.

Without a moment's hesitation.

"Ah, fuck..."

Anagin, who had been about to chase the Monster Merchant immediately, felt his head spin and paused.

Ponytail came up beside him.

"Looks like you got bitten good."

"Haa... How did you even get here? I figured you'd run off."

"Run off? What a hurtful thing to say... I was hiding and watching the whole time."

Ponytail said this shamelessly. Anagin didn't bother calling him out. They'd only been temporary travel companions to begin with.

More than that, what mattered right now was something else.

"Where are you going?"

Ponytail asked as Anagin started moving again.

"He ran, so I have to chase him."

"The Monster Merchant?"

"Yeah."

"Do you know where he went?"

"He'll be outside eating people."

Ponytail gave him a look that said, What are you talking about, but it wasn't an idle remark.

A Monster that reached a higher rank by eating people wouldn't just abandon the Ruins Village.

It was obvious from the way he'd scattered vast amounts of wealth to gather people and devoured them here and there to raise orphans.

Of course, Giants were better prey, but that was no reason he wouldn't eat ordinary people.

If a Giant was a tonic, then an ordinary person would be a meal. A meal to fill the belly and restore stamina.

Ponytail retorted.

"That depends on the situation too. He just got the crap beaten out of him by you, didn't he? I took a hit from your fist myself, so I know—he's probably pretty banged up."

"That's exactly why he'll want to eat even more. Because he has to eat me."

Just from the way he'd devoured Diodia without hesitation the moment Diodia was in no state to fight, it was clear the Monster Merchant's aim was Giants.

Consuming the highest-quality Giants possible.

Would a creature like that give up on himself? No chance.

The greed that seeped through even past the robe was no ordinary thing.

Therefore, the retreat just now had to be read not as a simple escape, but as a strategic withdrawal to devour people outside and recover his stamina.

"Shit, so that means things outside are a total mess right now?"

"Pretty much."

"You're awfully calm about it."

"How am I supposed to react?"

Anagin asked in return.

"I mean, if you don't care, why not just run? There are plenty of tough bastards outside too—they'd buy you some time."

"Why would I run?"

"You got hit with a pretty nasty poison, didn't you?"

Whether it was good instincts or not, Ponytail had seen through Anagin's condition at a glance.

The black-mouthed poison snake that had bitten him earlier wasn't an ordinary poison snake.

He'd known instinctively the moment it bit him.

He had experience being poisoned with countless venoms in the past, courtesy of the Master.

From the feel of it, he'd need to rest easy for at least half a day before his body recovered. But...

"It's a pathetic poison. I can move right now."

There was no time for that.

Ponytail was impressed.

"Wow... Are you the shy type? Or just a huge show-off? You said you don't care about people, so why are you trying so hard?"

Trying hard? Anagin laughed.

"Do I look like it?"

"Isn't that what it is?"

"I don't intend to save anyone. They're strangers—why would I?"

"Then why?"

"I just want to beat the shit out of that beast spawn. It's what I'm good at, and it's what I enjoy."

"Wheeoo~!"

At the simple, clear answer, Ponytail whistled. Then he pulled a cloth bundle from his clothes and tossed it over.

Checking the contents, there was a piece of fruit shining gold. It looked like an apple.

"That's—"

—Nom, nom.

The moment Ponytail tried to explain about the fruit piece, Anagin popped it into his mouth first and chewed.

Ponytail, dumbfounded, scolded him.

"Do you even know what that is before eating it?!"

"It's an antidote, isn't it? For snake venom?"

Anagin asked as he felt the poison in his veins clearing.

"Antidote? Yeah, it is! And a very precious antidote at that!! I was about to explain it all dramatically, and you just—"

"—You keep the magic staff. It looks expensive at a glance."

"Fuck! Thanks! Now I can't even complain!!"

"In exchange, lend it to me for a bit."

"The staff?"

"Yeah, I need it to crush the snake bastard. Do you know how to use it?"

---

Anagin and Ponytail left the Ruins together, just as they'd entered.

"Snake bastards are crawling everywhere."

Anagin said, looking down over the Ruins Village.

Large Monsters, mid-sized Monsters, and countless small Monsters were sweeping through the Ruins Village.

People fled screaming in every direction, and fires had broken out all over the tents, big and small.

'There he is.'

Anagin spotted the Monster Merchant in the midst of the chaos, devouring people.

The creature roamed the chaotic village, desperately swallowing the humans the Monster Serpents brought to him.

"Ah, are you really sure about this?"

Ponytail, standing beside him, muttered uneasily as he looked at the magic staff.

"You worried about me?"

"No, not you—I'm worried about the staff. It's got a powerful 'Yeom' in it, so it's tricky to handle. It can't be damaged."

Yeom was the source of magic.

When they'd been coming up, Ponytail had explained that magic tools were objects imbued with 'Yeom.'

The 'Yeom' of wanting to hold many things. The 'Yeom' of wanting to become a sharp blade. The 'Yeom' of wanting to wield powerful flame.

Incidentally, the more powerful the magic tool, the harder it was to use.

The 'Yeom' dwelling in the tool was strong and tried to break free of the user's will.

"In the end, it's just a tool, right? More importantly, can you really use it just by thinking?"

"As far as I know."

Ponytail answered and handed the magic staff to Anagin.

The moment Anagin took the staff with the intent to use it, he felt a certain resonance from it.

[You desire my power—]

"Ah, shut up. Before I break you."

The moment Anagin said this while gripping the staff tight, the staff, astonishingly, shut its mouth.

"Is this for real?"

Ponytail stared in disbelief.

It seemed to have worked.

Having finished his preparations, Anagin planted the staff in the ground and pulled out his sling.

He loaded a stone into the sling, spun it whirring, then hurled it with all his might at the Monster Merchant far away.

The stone flew, bursting with a pure-white shockwave.

Just before the stone struck his head, the Monster Merchant raised an arm to block it—but instead, the arm it hit burst apart on impact.

Sleeve shredding to tatters, and the wreckage of snakes.

Anagin waved a hand toward the Monster Merchant.

"Did you miss me?"

Then he leapt straight down the steep slope and ran at the Monster Merchant.

"You tiresome brat—!"

The Monster Merchant commanded the large Monster Serpent that had been fighting the butcher family to attack Anagin.

A headlong charge.

Anagin scooped up a sword lying in the chaos and cut the Monster Serpent down.

"...!"

The Monster Merchant was aghast at the sight.

To display such skill even with a stray blade.

Anagin kept charging, closing the distance.

The Monster Merchant, not yet recovered, seemed to feel the pressure—he gathered the mass of Serpents scattered everywhere and sent them charging at Anagin all at once.

"You don't deviate from expectations,"

Anagin wished inwardly as he swung the magic staff through the air.

Sweep away the swarm of Serpents with fire.

The staff answered Anagin's will, using the surrounding flames to sweep away the onrushing swarm of Serpents.

Fwharrrrrr—!

Even with the sun still up, the intense flames drew everyone's eyes and struck them with shock.

The one most shocked of all was the Monster Merchant.

He seemed quite taken aback that Anagin could handle his own belonging.

"How hurtful. It's not like I'm beneath your notice, am I?"

Anagin voiced his wounded pride and sent flames at the Monster Merchant.

Just before the enormous wave of fire could swallow the Monster Merchant, the Serpents around him rushed toward him.

Keeeeeeeeeng—!!

The Serpents, melding into one around the Monster Merchant, smashed the flames head-on.

It wasn't a simple merging.

The large ones as the skeleton, the mid-sized as muscle, the small ones as skin. Each individual abandoned its sense of self and became one perfect whole.

Because of that, even gathering all the flames rising around them, it seemed unlikely they could burn the Monster Merchant.

"Whoa, you are seriously ugly."

Amid the people frozen in awe at the enormous size and grotesque form, Anagin spoke to the Monster Merchant.

Adding one more remark.

"Of course, that's nothing compared to your real face."

Perhaps Anagin's words had struck a nerve—the monster serpent formed from countless snakes melded together flashed its hundreds of eyes and charged straight at Anagin.

Anagin drove his staff into the ground, gripped the sword with both hands, and swung it at the Monster Merchant charging head-on.

[Vertical Slash]

The sword he'd picked up along the way caught the fading sunlight and became a single streak of brilliance, falling from top to bottom.

Drawing a sharp arc as if to cut through everything.

But it didn't cut. Even though he'd shouted out a cool technique name and all.

The Monster Merchant, merged with the snakes, layered the countless snakes that served as his skin to block Anagin's attack—and not content with that, he used the snakes to coil around Anagin's body and tried to lift him up.

His scheme: hoist him into the air and drown him in venom and snakes.

Heavy.

"...?"

But something was off.

Anagin grinned.

"I'm heavier than I look, aren't I?"

Indeed.

The Monster Merchant's body—hundreds of Monster Serpents combined—couldn't properly lift Anagin and trembled. As a result, he was stuck in an awkward half-raised pose.

Amid that sense of wrongness, Anagin raised his bag high into the sky.

"The whole way here, I smashed every rock and boulder I saw and stuffed them in here."

With those words, Anagin swung down hard at the Monster Merchant.

A firework of blood burst forth.