Anagin Chronicles

Chapter 98

Crack!Crack!

Crack!

Magic spears forged of bronze poured down in a fierce shower, embedding themselves into the ground.

Each time a spear struck, it rang out with a heavy thud, and the ones that failed to stick occasionally let out a sharp clang! as they bounced off the floor.

Either way, it was equally dangerous.

Anagin charged straight into that storm of danger and rushed toward Meleager.

Tak!

As he ran, Anagin smoothly yanked a spear lodged in the ground and leveled it at Meleager.

Using the momentum of his sprint, he intended to drive it straight through.

The surrounding onlookers were both shocked and enraged by Anagin’s action.

To use a spear against Meleager, whose specialty was the spear, was nothing short of outrageous arrogance.

However, Meleager himself remained calm.

Even amid the downpour of spearheads, he simply held his ground.

The only thing moving were his eyes, scanning his surroundings.

When the distance between Anagin and Meleager had nearly closed—

Meleager moved the spear in his hand, hooked a falling magic spear out of the air, and hurled it at Anagin.

Shwaaak!

A feat only possible when the spear was as good as one’s own body.

But even more astonishing was the fact that the spear Meleager threw was imbued with Energy(Γι).

In that brief instant—despite only making contact through the spear—he had infused it with Energy(Γι).

It was a technique difficult to use unless one had perfect command over both spear techniques and Energy(Γι).

The spear filled with Energy(Γι), carrying the destructive force of a ballista, flew straight toward Anagin.

It was too fast to dodge.

So Anagin abandoned evasion.

Instead, he thrust the spear he had been aiming at Meleager, sliding the incoming spear aside.

He twisted the trajectory of the stabbing spear.

“Oh!”

The spectators who had been jeering at Anagin gasped in admiration.

That alone showed the caliber of his response.

But no sooner had he deflected the spear than two more of equal power came flying at him.

While Anagin was dealing with the first, Meleager had already launched two more.

Two spears flying almost simultaneously. Blocking them as before would be difficult.

Anagin halted his charge and twisted his body—dodging one spear and batting the other aside. In the process, he lost his grip on his spear.

Anagin was now empty-handed.

Tung!

No sooner had he blocked the spear than another sound rang out.

Light, yet nimble.

It was the sound of Meleager leaping from where he stood.

Light as a feather, fast as the wind, he sprang up and thrust his spear at Anagin.

Whoosh!

The spear closed the distance to his face in an instant.

Anagin barely managed to turn his head and avoid the blade.

Had he reacted even a little slower, a large hole might have opened in his face.

The sound of the spear cutting through the air brushed past his ears.

Goosebumps rose along the nape of his neck.

It was a situation where his body freezing would not have been strange, yet Anagin swiftly spun around.

To smash the back of Meleager’s head, left momentarily exposed after the leap.

Just as Anagin turned and was about to throw his punch—

“!”

Meleager, not only already landed but also poised to thrust his spear again, greeted him.

‘What in the….’

Anagin thought inwardly.

No matter how fast Meleager was, assuming such a stance immediately was unrealistic.

Anagin himself had turned swiftly the moment he evaded.

And yet Meleager had done it.

There was no other way to describe it but unnaturally fast.

‘Magic? Or a blessing? Most likely a blessing, but what kind?’

Through sparring with his master, Anagin had developed the habit of analyzing his opponent. His mind accelerated rapidly, dissecting the phenomenon before him.

But analysis was one thing, action was another.

Anagin’s body chose the optimal move before his mind could even issue the command.

Instead of retreating in panic, he closed in.

Against a long weapon like a spear, retreating clumsily was more dangerous. Paradoxically, closing the distance was safer.

A fact he had learned thanks to his damn master.

Shhk! Shwaak!

Anagin did not stop advancing, and Meleager thrust his spear.

Twice.

The spearheads, too fast for the eye to follow, left cuts on Anagin’s cheek and side.

Thanks to his swift approach without hesitation, he disrupted the spear’s striking points.

Though the spear pierced through his flesh, Anagin did not even blink as he closed the distance.

Close enough for his fist to reach.

At that moment, Meleager’s movement became unnaturally fast once more as he thrust his spear again.

Straight toward the center of Anagin’s torso.

“!”

At the sudden movement, Anagin abandoned his attack and desperately twisted his body to evade.

Meleager then swung his spear in a wide arc, blasting Anagin far away.

Meleager’s strength was immense; despite trying to endure, Anagin was sent flying as though a tree had been uprooted.

Crack! Snap! Crack!

As he flew, his body collided with the spear shafts embedded in the ground, and the snapping of breaking shafts rang out in succession.

Rolling hard across the ground, Anagin barely managed to stop just before falling out of the sparring arena.

“Waaaaaaah—!!”

The people gathered around the sparring grounds—the Chiron Tower disciples, servants, guards, and merchants alike—let out a massive cheer.

Though their ranks differed, at this moment they cheered as if they were one.

They all shared the identity of belonging to the proud Chiron Tower.

To varying degrees, their pride had been wounded by the bizarre article written by some junior reporter (Ponytail), and so they could not view Anagin favorably.

Was it not possible, as some insisted, that Anagin had bribed the reporter to write it?

As if lending weight to that suspicion, word had spread that the reporter who wrote the article had arrived together with Anagin.

An unpleasant coincidence.

Amid all that, seeing Meleager the Immortal, the great hero and pride of Chiron Tower, toying with Anagin left them no choice but to cheer.

Their pride swelled!

As expected of Meleager!

He had single-handedly held back an army for his comrades and defeated a bishop of the Barbaroi Cult—a true great hero.

That great hero spoke mercifully.

“Bring another weapon if you need to.”

“…What weapon?”

Anagin, barely clinging to the edge of the arena, pushed himself up and asked.

As if he had a plate of iron for a face, he showed no sign of agitation despite being completely overwhelmed by Meleager.

The spectators assumed it was mere bravado, but Meleager alone sensed that it was not.

No matter how good a liar one was, in a situation like this, it was impossible to perfectly control the subtle movements of facial muscles or the tone of one’s voice.

Anagin truly was not flustered.

He was controlling himself.

Quite unexpected.

Gigants generally lacked resistance to defeat or being driven onto the defensive.

Because of their innate monstrous strength, they lived lives far removed from defeat, and as a result, their egos tended to swell.

It was not an easy flaw to overcome.

Meleager, being a Gigant himself, knew this well.

Perhaps Anagin had been properly educated in more than just combat.

Thinking so, Meleager continued.

“A sword, an axe—whatever weapon you’re actually good at handling.”

“I’m good with a spear, too.”

As if he had already forgotten nearly being smashed into the ground moments ago, Anagin picked up a spear lying nearby and swung it through the air.

At that brazen, confident display, some of the spectators booed, “Boo!”

Anagin did not care in the slightest.

Meleager voiced his doubt.

“Is there a reason you insist on the spear?”

“Since your specialty seems to be the spear, it’ll be fucking awesome if I take you on with one.”

It was hard to tell if it was a provocation or sincerity.

The jeers grew louder, yet Anagin paid them no mind, just as before. Because he truly did not care.

The opinions of people who could do nothing but shout from the sidelines meant nothing.

Meleager also remained composed. This was not the first time someone had tried such provocation.

Of course, familiarity did not make it pleasant.

Tak!

Meleager flicked a fallen spear up with his own and sent it flying toward Anagin.

The flow resembled the opening exchange.

However, Anagin responded differently this time.

Concentrating Energy(Γι) into his leg, he kicked up a broken spear shaft lying on the ground—

One that had snapped when it collided with him earlier.

Claaang!

The spear Meleager had thrown collided midair with the shaft Anagin had kicked up.

Ordinarily, Meleager’s spear would have shattered the shaft and continued on toward Anagin…

But Anagin had infused the shaft with Energy(Γι) as he kicked it, allowing him to block it.

“!”

The magic spear shattered into fragments, scattering in all directions.

Members of the New Argonaut Expedition Team and several practitioners watching the spar were stunned.

They knew better than anyone that imbuing Energy(Γι) in such a brief instant was no ordinary feat.

They genuinely wondered whether Anagin had always been capable of it, or if he had just copied Meleager moments ago.

“Hmm.”

With his attack blocked in an unexpected manner, Meleager hurled several more spears.

In response, Anagin lightly raised his foot—imbued with Energy(Γι)—and stomped the ground as if crushing it.

Boom!

The earth shook, and the spear shafts scattered across the ground bounced into the air.

Anagin tossed the spear he was holding upward for a moment, then struck the airborne shafts with both fists, sending them flying toward Meleager.

Clang! Clang! Clang!!

More than a dozen spears collided and crossed midair, exploding with a deafening roar as fragments scattered everywhere.

Breaking through that storm of debris, Anagin and Meleager charged and thrust their spears at each other.

Anagin’s spear shattered.

Meleager’s spear pierced through.

Though both had reinforced their weapons with Energy(Γι) through Yul(εὐ), only Anagin’s spear broke.

He had been outmatched in proficiency with Yul(εὐ) and in the density of his Energy(Γι).

And beyond that…

For Anagin, the spear was merely one of several weapons he could wield.

For Meleager, it was his most specialized weapon.

Even his method of using Energy(Γι) and his blessings were all tailored to the spear.

Yet Anagin did not panic when his spear broke. He immediately picked up another spear embedded in or fallen upon the ground and continued fighting.

Each time, his spear was broken, bent, or shattered by Meleager’s spear.

Clang! Crack! Snap! Shatter!

The spears were consumed at a rapid pace.

Still, Anagin did not tire of it. He kept moving, picking up new spears to face Meleager.

Seeing such persistence, Meleager began to think it was time to end it.

He was not exhausted, but his motivation had waned.

Originally, he had intended to let Anagin feel the gap in their abilities—measured by the number of broken spears—and acknowledge defeat on his own.

But watching Anagin stubbornly grab spear after spear and charge again, that seemed unlikely.

It would be quicker to deliver a decisive blow and make the difference clear.

Having reached that conclusion, Meleager activated one of his blessings.

[Protection of the Spear]

A blessing that allowed him to move any spear he had used or touched with his will.

The longer he had used or been in contact with a spear, the more precise his control became.

For spears he had only touched briefly, he could issue only simple commands.

But that alone was enough.

“Huh?”

As Anagin reached out to grab a spear, it moved on its own and drifted far away.

And it wasn’t just that one.

All the spears embedded in the ground or scattered nearby pulled away from Anagin’s side.

It was possible because, while fighting Anagin, Meleager had lightly tapped each surrounding spear once with his own.

It was a clear demonstration of just how arrogant it had been to challenge Meleager with a spear.

Even so, Anagin dashed to retrieve one of the retreating spears.

At that moment, he felt the surrounding air gather toward a single point.

The center of that convergence was Meleager’s spear.

Gripping the spear in one hand as if loading it, Meleager braced it with the other and gathered his strength.

The surrounding air surged toward him under that influence—

And then it burst.

The spear shot forth, aimed at Anagin’s torso.

Anagin desperately twisted his body to avoid the blade.

Shwaaak—!

The spear was too fast to evade completely. A deep red line was carved across his chest.

Yet Anagin paid it no mind. Using the acceleration from his twisting motion, he spun once.

[Weapon Deflection]

He threw his fist along the trajectory of Meleager’s thrust.

Anagin’s punch struck Meleager’s spear squarely—

And Meleager let go of it with surprising ease.

“Oh…!”

Eyes gleaming with admiration, Meleager looked at Anagin.

Regardless, Anagin clenched his fist and, facing the now empty-handed Meleager—

[Instant Acceleration]

Tak! Pababababak!!

Moving with the same unnatural speed he had shown earlier, Meleager knocked aside Anagin’s punch and drove more than a dozen blows into Anagin’s face and torso.

Each fist was heavy, like a lump of lead.

It had been Anagin’s miscalculation.

He had assumed that if he forced Meleager to fight barehanded, things would change…

But Meleager was more than strong enough even without a spear.

However, Anagin was not the only one who had miscalculated.

Crack!

Though nearly sent flying backward by Meleager’s punches, Anagin dragged his center of gravity forward and endured.

He acknowledged that Meleager’s fists were quite heavy—but only quite.

Having been beaten half to death daily by his master, Anagin could withstand this if he set his mind to it.

“……”

Seeing Anagin endure his flurry of blows, Meleager showed a flicker of surprise before quickly regaining his composure.

The spear Anagin had knocked away earlier was flying silently toward Anagin’s back.

If it struck as it was, Anagin would be skewered—

Whoosh!

Without even looking back, Anagin lowered his body diagonally and avoided the spear aimed at his back.

How?

He had predicted it after witnessing Meleager’s blessing, [Protection of the Spear].

If it were him, that was how he would use it.

Anagin’s prediction proved correct, and he narrowly evaded Meleager’s spear.

Seeing that, everyone, including Meleager, was astonished.

But it was too soon to be amazed.

Anagin detonated the Energy(Γι) within his body, accelerating himself in an instant just as Meleager had done—

Then grabbed the spear that had just passed him and thrust it straight at Meleager.