Chapter 35

Chapter 35: Ehei (3)

A peaceful morning in Dolos Village.

The village was the same as always. The men, having finished breakfast, headed out with farm tools slung over their shoulders, while the women began cleaning up.

Today was the same as yesterday, and tomorrow would be the same as today.

Peaceful, yet just a little boring…

KWANG—!

Then, suddenly, a thunderous boom rang out.

Not merely a loud noise, but a menacing one that made the skin prickle.

The villagers, who had been trudging along mid-yawn, all turned their heads toward the sound—and saw it.

The wall of the Dolos family estate, the very heart of the village, was collapsing.

Beyond the crumbling wall, a man was laughing and shouting.

“For an old timer who can’t even stand straight, you’ve got some fight in you!”

---

Anagin, having dodged Razonia’s thrust by a hair’s breadth, shouted back.

Mocking him for having vigor despite being too old to stand was just a bonus.

“Or are you angry? Did I hit a nerve?!”

Anagin dodged Razonia’s spear as it flew at him again and asked once more.

Was it really so infuriating to hear that the Dolos family’s power wasn’t enough to catch him?

“Or maybe you’re upset that I found out you’re a dog begging for blessings—”

Mid-sentence, having dodged the third attack, Spanichi’s father closed in. It was a strike aimed at Anagin, who had shown an opening right after evading.

He swung his sword at Anagin, but Anagin knocked the blade aside with his hand and threw a punch.

Just as Anagin’s fist was about to connect with Spanichi’s father’s jaw, Spanichi thrust his spear to block it.

“If you’re going to jump in, then do it properly!”

Anagin, his attack blocked, shouted and drove his elbow into Spanichi’s chest.

“Kuhk!”

Spanichi coughed from the powerful impact and staggered back.

Spanichi’s father tried to attack again in that opening, but Anagin moved a step faster and grabbed the hand holding his sword.

Kwaaak…!

Under that iron grip, Spanichi’s father couldn’t even put up a real resistance, and Anagin moved to drive his elbow into the man’s face.

Swish—!

This time, Razonia intervened and it failed, but—

Anagin stepped back and offered his assessment.

“I get it now. Even if you’re all weaklings, numbers do make things annoying. Now I see why you didn’t want to split off a branch family.”

“…”

Surprisingly, Anagin’s assessment matched what other Ascetics said about Ascetic Families.

Ascetics who had built up their own reputation and achievements mostly looked down on Ascetic Families.

As nothing more than weaklings who only had numbers.

It was, in part, unavoidable.

In a typical Ascetic Family, only one or two members were worth anything, and the rest were barely fit to be errand runners. Most Ascetic Families never rose far above that level. No one knew why. People could only guess it was a kind of karmic price for an Ascetic establishing a family…

Perhaps that was why.

Razonia and Spanichi’s father didn’t show it outwardly, but they were furious. It grated on them that some brat who hadn’t even been an Ascetic for ten days was strutting around like a famed Ascetic… What made it worse was that the bastard had already taken down four of their own, so they couldn’t even argue back.

Anagin poured oil on the fire without hesitation.

“Now I get why you’re so desperate for a blessing. Both your sons are weaklings, and the only one worth a damn, your eldest grandson, is soft-hearted… No wonder you’re anxious even at your age. I guess raising children really is hard, huh?”

“Watch your mouth!”

Spanichi shouted without thinking, swept up in anger. It was a natural reaction—Anagin had called his father a weakling and mocked his grandfather.

Anagin warned him.

“You’re the one who needs to get your head straight. Earlier, you should’ve stabbed me instead of blocking my arm.”

Anagin’s warning was about nothing other than Spanichi’s complacent stance.

When Anagin had tried to punch Spanichi’s father, Spanichi had thrust his spear at Anagin’s arm to block the attack.

A defense, not an attack.

That wouldn’t do.

He should have aimed for Anagin’s torso, not his arm.

For a Giant with powerful defense and recovery, damage to the limbs was no big deal. Only hits to vital spots like the neck or torso were truly lethal.

“I don’t know if it’s because you’re worried about your father or because you want to go easy on me, but if you’ve agreed to fight, then fight properly. If you lose to me now, that’s not going to end well for you… right?”

Anagin looked at Razonia.

Even Razonia, who had learned through years and experience not to show his emotions, broke into a cold sweat in that moment.

“Scared? Getting wrecked by me won’t end at just a little humiliation, you know?”

He wasn’t just talking.

Ascetic Families operated under a god’s name, so they absolutely had to protect their reputation—even more so than ordinary Ascetics.

If they sullied their reputation, they could lose the territory granted to them by their god, or face even greater trials. Naturally, what followed would be an immense road of suffering.

“So come at me with everything you’ve got, no regrets. I don’t plan on going easy.”

Perhaps understanding the gravity of the situation, the hesitation gradually disappeared from Spanichi’s expression.

Even so, he looked at the Beastcleaver at Anagin’s waist and his empty hands with uncomprehending eyes.

He couldn’t understand why Anagin would face them bare-handed without drawing his sword.

Reading that look, Anagin said,

“Ah… you lot are more than enough with bare hands.”

Twitch.

Veins bulged on Spanichi’s and everyone else’s foreheads as they moved in unison.

Perhaps fueled by rage, their coordination was far better than before.

Spanichi’s father, sword in hand, rapidly closed the distance to pressure Anagin, while Razonia and Spanichi, spears in hand, kept one step back and stabbed at openings.

Blades and spear tips cut through the air.

All three were using Yul, so their attacks were fierce.

“Ah, I’m surrounded.”

Anagin, dodging and blocking, remarked.

Just as he said, he was now surrounded by all three.

If this kept up, it might get annoying.

Anagin threw something at Spanichi’s father, who was charging at him with momentum.

Pft-!

It was none other than the Harpy Witch’s feather.

Having confirmed in his fight with the Witch that they were quite useful, Anagin had tucked a few feathers into his clothes, and now he pulled one out and threw it, burying it in Spanichi’s father’s thigh.

“Kkeuk…!”

Caught off guard, Spanichi’s father flinched, and Anagin charged straight through. He passed by the man and broke out of the encirclement.

Then he threw more feathers, burying over a dozen in Spanichi’s father’s legs.

“Kraaaagh—!”

Spanichi’s father collapsed with feathers studding his thighs and calves.

“You should’ve gritted your teeth and endured the pain.”

Anagin kicked the man’s jaw from behind, knocking him unconscious.

As his father fell, Spanichi, enraged, swung his spear at Anagin.

The spear came flying with a whoosh, and Anagin ducked to dodge it lightly. At that exact moment, Razonia thrust a Gi-condensed spear at Anagin.

Twice the speed of the attacks until now.

‘Was he attacking slowly on purpose?’

Anagin wondered.

Had Razonia deliberately attacked slowly for this moment, or had he sharply increased his attack speed with Gi?

There was no way to know, but the effect wasn’t bad.

Anagin had just ducked, so it was a bit hard to dodge immediately.

At best, he could lean back to avoid it.

But he didn’t choose that.

With Yul of that caliber, extending a weapon’s reach by releasing Gi would be nothing. That was how he’d gotten his face cut in the fight with Bander.

So Anagin raised the Beastcleaver at his waist, still in its sheath, and deflected the spear at an angle.

Chwaaaaak!!

Razonia’s spear seemed like it would grind away everything it touched.

Even so, Anagin deftly received the attack, redirected it, then drew his sword and cut Razonia’s spear in two.

With the Beastcleaver, without even infusing it with Gi, against Razonia’s Gi-infused spear. With pure swordsmanship alone.

“How…?!”

“Nice.”

Anagin didn’t let the momentum of his swing go to waste, using it to try to cut down Razonia as well. At that moment, Spanichi swung his spear to block.

‘It won’t come off?’

Anagin tried to shake off Spanichi’s spear, but it clung fast and wouldn’t come loose. Spanichi was using spearmanship to latch on and hang on.

The sword and spear wouldn’t separate.

Anagin, with Spanichi still attached, began a contest of strength.

In a pure contest of strength, Anagin would have won, but Spanichi used the nature of the spear—larger than a sword—and his spearmanship to resist. He deftly moved the spear not only to redirect Anagin’s strength but to turn it against him.

As the spear and sword danced like that, Spanichi used Anagin’s own strength to fling both his spear and Anagin’s sword into the air.

‘Yes! Like this—’

“—Good judgment.”

Spanichi, having suddenly made them both empty-handed, went for Anagin.

But Anagin was faster, throwing a punch that struck Spanichi across the face.

“Kuh, kkuk…!”

Spanichi tried to counterattack, but he was overwhelmed one-sidedly by Anagin.

Anagin blocked Spanichi’s attacks, broke through his defenses, and landed punch after punch.

When the weapons that had been spinning in the air fell back down, only Anagin was standing, and Spanichi was down.

Anagin held the Beastcleaver in his right hand and the spear in his left.

In that state, Anagin threw the spear at Razonia and charged.

Razonia dodged the spear but couldn’t respond to Anagin closing in and nearly got cut down—until a white jade-like spear flew out from inside the estate and saved him.

“A divine weapon?”

Anagin said, looking at the spear that had flown at him and then returned to Razonia.

What was it he’d heard? A weapon made by a god for Ascetic Families and bestowed upon them?

Its ability was to amplify Gi.

But to think it could even fly on its own to save its master.

“Don’t tell me you’re bringing out the family treasure—”

“—Forget that, this is perfect.”

Anagin pointed the Beastcleaver at Razonia.

“That divine weapon or whatever it is—it really pissed me off.”

“?”

Anagin used Yul. He infused the Beastcleaver with Gi. An ominous light poured from the Beastcleaver like a waterfall.

“Come at me. I’ll cut you in two.”

At Anagin’s harsh words, spat out the moment he saw the family treasure, even Razonia, who had maintained relative composure, grew agitated and used Yul. He infused his spear with Gi.

Ssssssss—!!

The Dolos family’s divine weapon, which amplified Gi, lived up to its nature as Gi swelled explosively and overflowed outward.

Anagin took his stance, and Razonia took his.

The air paused for a moment.

Tak!

Without either waiting for the other, they moved and clashed. No—they nearly clashed.

Fwip…!

Just as the Beastcleaver and the divine weapon were about to meet, Anagin threw the Beastcleaver into the air, avoiding the collision.

The divine weapon cut through empty space in vain.

Razonia looked at Anagin with a face like he’d been had, and Anagin raised his leg and said to Razonia,

“Just kidding.”

—KWANG!

Before Razonia could say anything, Anagin brought his foot down on him.

Because Razonia had focused too much Gi into the divine weapon, his defense had weakened, and he couldn’t get back up.

‘To think I’d use what I learned from Sabu like this…’

Anagin thought, looking at the fallen Razonia.

Honestly, it didn’t feel bad. Thanks to it, he’d been able to take him down more easily.

Anagin checked the fallen Razonia once more, then looked around. None of the Dolos family’s servants were anywhere in sight—they must have all fled.

“Ah, there it is.”

Anagin spotted the Dolos family’s divine weapon lying far off.

A spear white as bone with a jade-like texture. The blade and shaft were fused as one, as if molded from clay.

Anagin picked up the spear.

“You’re going to steal it, kuhlk…! Is that it?”

Someone spoke to Anagin as he examined the spear.

It was Spanichi, who had been knocked down after taking multiple punches from Anagin.

He’d had a vague sense of it, but that guy seemed to have the best physique in the Dolos family. Anagin had really punched him to knock him out, yet he got back up.

“Answer me!!”

Still, he didn’t seem to be in normal condition—Spanichi wobbled. At odds with the rage in his voice.

“No. I don’t plan to.”

“Don’t lie! If not that, then why are you picking it up?!!”

Spanichi wasn’t listening to Anagin.

Well, words wouldn’t mean much, would they. So Anagin showed him through action.

“Here.”

He tossed the divine weapon in his hand in front of Spanichi.

“…What are you doing?”

“I’m going to break it. The divine weapon.”

“…What?”

“I said I’m going to break it.”

“…Why?”

Not truly understanding, Spanichi asked.

If Anagin had said he was taking the divine weapon, he could have understood it, even if it made him furious. A precious weapon like a divine weapon was something every Ascetic wanted. But to break it—that made no sense.

“That thing really pisses me off. I felt it the moment I first touched it.”

Spanichi remembered how Anagin had frowned the moment he touched the divine weapon and handed it back.

“What does that even mean?”

“I don’t know either. It just feels like that thing shouldn’t exist.”

“You…! Really…Do you just live by your feelings?!!”

“…”

“You let a monster loose! And now you’re going to break our family heirloom!! And you call yourself an Ascetic!? …Just what reason do you have for becoming an Ascetic?!!”

“It’s different from yours, at least.”

“So what is it, then?!! Just what on earth—”

“—I’m going to become a God.”

Spanichi, mid-shout, stopped. As if cut off by a blade.

“……A God?”

“Yeah. The reason is… let’s just say it’s to wash away my own damned helplessness and humiliation.”

Razonia couldn’t understand it even after hearing the answer.

Every now and then, an Ascetic who claimed he’d become a God appeared, but most were nobodies spouting grand words. No one had ever said they’d become a God for such an incomprehensible reason.

“Of course, I don’t really know how one becomes a God yet either, but that’s something I can figure out as I go… For now, I need to focus on what’s in front of me. So, pick that up.”

Anagin pointed at the divine weapon.

“At the very least, I’ll give you a chance to protect it.”

“…”

“Or should I just break it?”

At those words, Spanichi forced his body to move and picked up the divine weapon.

Then he drew in Gi until he could see the bottom of his reserves and poured it into the divine weapon. Squeezing out everything, without a thought for what came after.

Hearing Spanichi’s answer, Anagin put the Beastcleaver back in its sheath, then gripped his right wrist with his left hand and infused Gi into his fist.

The air paused for a moment.

Anagin said one thing.

“I’ll take you seriously.”

With those words, Anagin threw his fist, and Spanichi thrust his spear.

And then, a brilliant light blazed forth.