Chapter 174. Water Fight (3)
When Anagin tore open his chest, Tramachus’s flames burst out and engulfed the ugly one.
The vicious flames, as toxic as poison, burned her hair and fins, and Anagin used that opening to cleanly sever her arm with the Beast Devourer.
In a way, it was a foolish move.
Splitting her head would have been more effective than cutting off an arm.
Even so, Anagin chose the arm instead of the neck.
Because living beings react more sensitively when their vital points are targeted.
If he had aimed for a vital point, there was a high chance she would evade it—especially considering the physical ability she had shown when landing a hit on him. So he judged it more effective to go for the limbs first.
‘Especially the arm wearing the bracelet.’
As he thought that, Anagin cut off her arm.
Thud.
The severed arm fell onto the water’s surface.
It looked as if it had landed on solid ground, but soon began to slowly sink.
Instead of reaching for the severed arm, Anagin prepared to swing the Beast Devourer again.
He aimed at the ugly one, who was trying to retrieve her arm—or rather, the bracelet.
She tried to act like she didn’t care, but she was clearly obsessed with it.
Even though the flames on her face hadn’t been extinguished yet, she was already trying to recover the bracelet.
Considering the immense power it held, it wasn’t strange—but still....... From Anagin’s perspective, that didn’t seem like the real reason.
Rather, it was probably because of her appearance, which was beginning to warp, starting from the severed arm.
“Ugh...! Ngh......!”
Before losing her arm, she had a somewhat fierce yet alluring appearance, like a mermaid from legend... but once her arm was severed, her previously slender arm and waist swelled, transforming her into something closer to a grotesque fish monster.
Perfectly fitting for the Barbaroi Cult.
It seemed the bracelet had the effect of enhancing her appearance.
Why something like that existed was beyond him, but that wasn’t important.
What mattered was that she was desperately trying to retrieve it.
Anagin didn’t miss that opening and swung the Beast Devourer to split her head.
Distracted by the bracelet, she missed the timing to dodge, and just as her head was about to be split—
Fwoosh—!
From the right side of Anagin’s chest—the one he had torn open—flames surged violently, delivering an intense burning pain.
‘Fuck!’
Though Anagin could fight even while burning, he wasn’t completely immune to fire.
And flames erupting from inside his body caused even more vicious pain.
The intense pain made the Beast Devourer waver for a split second.
As a result, instead of splitting her head, he merely carved a vertical line across her face.
“Kyahahahaah—!!”
A scream closer to a beast than a human.
Clutching her distorted face, the ugly one fled beneath the water.
A painful mistake. And an even more painful burning sensation.
‘Why now, when I only needed one clean hit...! Ah, maybe the flames get stronger at moments like this? When I focus too much on attacking?’
Even in the midst of agony, Anagin analyzed the nature of the flames.
It was a habit born from endless training with his master.
And now, he acted on another habit.
No matter how painful or exhausting it was, he did what had to be done.
Because if he ever stopped due to pain, that damned master would only make things worse.
‘That damn old man.’
Clamping the Beast Devourer in his mouth, Anagin used his right hand to pick up the severed arm.
He didn’t use his left hand because the wound from the trident still prevented proper movement. Not only that, but the various wounds across his body hadn’t healed either.
Normally, they should have recovered instantly, but for some reason, they hadn’t.
‘Is it because of this?’
Anagin looked at his right chest, still spewing flames.
He suspected the flames were interfering with his natural healing.
A reasonable assumption.
Which meant there was only one thing for him to do.
Calm himself and gradually suppress the flames.
It wasn’t difficult, he had done it once before.
The problem was, the fight wasn’t over yet.
“Kyaaayhayhak—!!!”
As if on cue, a massive trident, like a towering pillar, shot up from beneath the water where Anagin stood.
The one who thrust it was a mermaid at least five meters tall.......
A grotesquely obese anglerfish mermaid.
“Munnai (Ugly One)!!”
Reading the flow beneath the water and reacting a step ahead, Anagin recognized her and shouted with the Beast Devourer still in his mouth.
Her body had bloated like a rotting pig, her mouth grotesquely enlarged, and strange feelers had grown from her head—but overall, it was unmistakably her.
Especially the severed arm, the charred head, and the vertical wound across her face.
After all, Anagin had just done that.
“Kyahahyahyahyahyak—!”
Now fully living up to her new name, the ugly one, having seemingly forgotten human speech, let out a monstrous shriek and swung her trident upward in a wide arc.
It wasn’t just aimed at Anagin, it looked like she intended to overturn the entire surface.
Fwoooooosh—!!
It wasn’t a bad move.
If the entire surface was overturned, Anagin would inevitably be thrown into the air.
His right chest still burning, his wounds unhealed, and his body left unnaturally suspended midair—
The next sequence played out exactly as Anagin had pictured it.
The anglerfish mermaid thrust her trident again at the weakened Anagin.
Though it was a bit tough in his injured state, Anagin kicked off the incoming trident and naturally landed on top of it.
If anything, the weapon’s size made it easier to mount.
But as if expecting this, the ugly one opened her massive jaws wide.
Then, her jaw jutted forward grotesquely, targeting Anagin.
More precisely, the arm he held.
Whoosh!
Anagin hurled the severed arm high into the air.
Then, grabbing the Beast Devourer again, he slashed the protruding mouth.
Tink!
It was tougher than expected, leaving only minor wounds.
“Kiiiiiik—!”
Even so, it produced a rather amusing scream.
But this wasn’t enough.
Riding down along the trident, Anagin charged forward and tried to slice through her thick, triple-layered chin.
Kkagak...!
But this time.
It wasn’t as easy as he thought.
He expected the bloated flesh to give way easily, but the scales covering it were incredibly tough.
It felt like his blade was being blocked at the surface.
He had experienced a similar sensation once before. Pigmenes, who had transformed into a bishop.
‘As expected… not a priest, but a bishop-level?’
He had already suspected it from her transformed appearance.
The same kind of opponent that the Argonaut Expedition Team, including Meleager the Immortal, the Great Warrior Atalanta, and others from the New Argonaut Expedition Team, had fought together to defeat.
A bigger threat than expected, but.......
“Even better!”
Grinning, Anagin put all his strength into both arms and pushed the Beast Devourer forward with everything he had.
Kkagagagagak—!!
The blade, grinding against the tough scales, finally carved into her neck with a deafening sound.
It didn’t cut deeply due to the thick flesh, but it was enough.
“Kyahahyahyahahak!!!”
Because the ugly one plummeted while screaming.
Boom—!
Bleeding from her neck, she crashed into the sea, creating a massive column of water.
Anagin landed on the surface.
The fisherman mage’s spell was still in effect.
Feeling relieved, Anagin lifted the Beast Devourer.
The blood scattering through the air was absorbed into it.
The red pig emblem grew more vivid, but that wasn’t the reason this time.
The real reason was to locate her.
By tracking the direction of the flowing blood, he could pinpoint her position.
‘I have a bad feeling about this.’
As usual, the bad premonition hit the mark.
The ugly one, who had recklessly attacked in her obsession with the bracelet, had come to her senses after getting her neck cut and was now trying to escape.
The blood trail growing more distant was proof of that.
‘I have to chase her, but.......’
The problem was his condition.
As much as he hated to admit it, his wounds hadn’t healed, blood was still flowing from them, and the flames in his right chest were still burning.
More than anything, despite her bulk, she was escaping surprisingly fast.
Even if he chased her now, catching her wouldn’t be easy.
That was when.
Whoooooosh—!
As if answering his predicament, a massive whirlpool formed in front of the fleeing ugly one.
The scale was ominous.
She tried to change direction, but it was too late.
Other whirlpools formed around her, trapping her in place.
As multiple massive whirlpools appeared, Anagin looked around.
“Impressive. To push her back that far on your own.”
Riding atop the transformation mage, who had turned into a shark, the fisherman mage approached.
It didn’t look like they had been idle while Anagin fought, as their condition wasn’t great either, but that only made it more surprising.
Even after a round of battle, he still had enough strength to use magic like that. It almost felt like he had been holding back this whole time.
“Th-that’s a bishop, isn’t it?”
As if trying to assert his presence, the transformation mage shouted while looking at the ugly one.
For reference, the ugly one was struggling to escape the whirlpool, but remained trapped as if caught in a net.
‘A spell that can bind a bishop like that.......’
No matter how he thought about it, it felt on the level of Meleager the Immortal or the Great Warrior Atalanta—something on the level of the Argonaut Expedition Team.
If measured in stars, at least 7-star.
Which meant the fisherman mage who cast it was also at that level.
The suspicion that he had been hiding his strength was turning into certainty. Not that it was necessarily a bad thing, but.......
“Did we get her?”
The other mages, who had been supporting from atop the eagle before pulling back, had also approached.
Anagin felt he couldn't delay any longer and took action immediately.
“Hey, fisherman mage.”
“What?”
Perhaps having given up, the fisherman mage accepted the nickname without complaint.
“I’m going to devour that thing.”
Anagin made a unilateral declaration as he adjusted his grip on Beast Devourer.
He intended to give the ugly one before him to the Beast Devourer as prey.
The surrounding mages were shocked.
He was claiming a rare and precious bishop for himself.
“Wait—”
“What’s the problem? Your target was a priest trying to become a bishop, right? Not an actual bishop.”
Call it a mistake caused by lack of information.
The mages’ true target was something far greater.
Of course, in most situations, the objective would be adjusted according to the change—but Anagin had no intention of playing along.
Their target was a priest aspiring to become a bishop. Everything else, Anagin intended to devour.
Besides, he had practically defeated the bishop himself.
And since he was itching to strengthen Beast Devourer, he had no intention of yielding.
Sensing his stance, the mages protested, but one person reacted differently.
“More importantly, what about that?”
The fisherman mage spoke as if demanding something.
As soon as he said it, something fell from the sky, and Anagin caught it.
It was the ugly one’s severed arm.
Perhaps due to the bracelet’s effect, the severed arm alone retained its beautiful appearance, but once he removed the bracelet, it immediately warp into a grotesque limb as if from the underworld.
“Ugh.”
Anagin tossed the arm into the sea and kept only the bracelet.
A bracelet shaped like multiple fish caught in a net.
Even at a glance, it felt ominous and unsettling.
“That’s.......”
At the sight of the bracelet, the fisherman mage’s eyes gleamed with greed.
Without hesitation, Anagin tossed it to him.
A promise was a promise.
Thud!
The fisherman mage snatched it and stared at it intently.
He seemed to know exactly what it was, and he clearly liked it.
“I’m taking that one. No complaints, right?”
As Anagin pointed at the ugly one and declared it, the fisherman mage not only agreed but offered to help.
A natural response, perhaps—but the other Magno mages objected.
Still, with the fisherman mage’s agreement, they couldn’t interfere.
Thus, the deal was hastily struck.
And just as the fisherman mage tried to put on the bracelet—
Zap!
The bracelet rejected the fisherman mage's wrist, pushing him away as if recoiling.
A burn-like wound formed on his wrist as a result.
“.......”
It seemed like it wasn’t an ordinary magical tool. Perhaps there was some special method required to wear it.
But judging by the fisherman mage’s expression, the issue ran deeper.
As everyone wondered what was going on—
“Hahaha! Did you really think you could defy your nature like that?”
The ugly one, still struggling within the whirlpool, shouted something incomprehensible.
The fisherman mage glared at her with burning eyes.
Then.
“We can help you.”
“.......”
“As you know, we’ve caught several mermaids already. And soon, that man will arrive.......”
“.......”
“Help me, and I’ll ask him—”
Splash!
Before she could finish, the fisherman mage moved.
Anagin also sensed something off and tried to act—but unfortunately, the fisherman mage was faster.
He dispelled the magic he had cast on Anagin.
He canceled the magic allowing him to walk on water and breathe underwater.
As a result, Anagin fell straight into the sea, and saltwater seeped into his wounds, causing a pain like being stabbed with a heated blade.
But that wasn’t all.
“What the—ghk!”
The fisherman mage didn’t just betray Anagin.
He attacked the transformation mage he was riding, and even the eagle puppet in the sky.
He pierced the shark-transformed mage’s back with a harpoon, then threw a net to drag down the eagle puppet and the mages riding it into the water.
So fast that there wasn’t even a hint of hesitation.
“Why...?”
“It can’t be helped.”
Pulling out the harpoon, the fisherman mage answered the transformation mage’s question.
Then he aimed the weapon at Anagin.
As if planning to deal with him first.
His condition was far from ideal, but he couldn’t just take it lying down.
Anagin tried to counterattack, but the surrounding water transformed into hands and restrained him.
It was clearly the fisherman mage’s magic.
Just as the harpoon was about to be thrown, Anagin noticed something.
It was.......
[O wind, swirl and fall upon the enemy's head.]
It was Sphinx, flying while half-transformed into a monster, and the subordinate woman held in her hands.
Sphinx flapped her massive wings from the sky, plunging a whirlwind onto the fisherman mage's head.
Taking advantage of the moment the fisherman mage was distracted by the whirlwind targeting him, Anagin imbued his Energy (Γι) into Beast Devourer and swung it toward him.
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