Chapter 186

Chapter 186. Underwater Battle, Round Two (1)

Was ‍​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​​‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​​​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​​​‌​‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌‌‌​‌‍it because the insult, fully grounded in truth, was simply too painful?  

The ‍​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍ugly woman who had appeared with such self-confidence froze, an expression of shock washing over her face.

Anagin, ‍​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍the one who had hurled the insults, didn’t even spare the ugly one a glance and instead approached the subordinate woman again.

The ‍​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍subordinate woman—the self-proclaimed daughter of Poseidon—looked up at Anagin, and Anagin looked down at her.

A ‍​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍self-proclaimed god and a human faced one another.

The ‍​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍composition felt a little strange somehow, but.......

In any case, the two pairs of eyes exchanged emotions.

Reading despair, doubt, and yet still a faint spark of hope in the subordinate woman’s eyes, Anagin opened his mouth.

“Just in case you misunderstand... I don’t want anything from you. Because I genuinely don’t like you.”

“.......”

“No matter what your circumstances were, you helped the Barbaroi Cult kidnap people, and then acted like you were the victim. And that’s not all. I also hate how you complain when you can’t do a single thing yourself. It pisses me off how you can’t trust people and doubt every single thing they say. Seriously. From the bottom of my heart.”

The subordinate woman, unable to say anything in the face of the unimaginable verbal abuse, shut her mouth even tighter.

After all, it wasn’t just that his words were harsh—the emotions carried in his voice made it clear he meant every word.

Only now did the subordinate woman stop doubting Anagin’s words. He truly wanted nothing from her. How could he, when he hated her this much?

It was definitely different.

Different from the people who had coveted and tried to use her after she had fallen to the same state as humans.

The fact that he hated her this openly made him oddly convincing.

And so, a question arose in her mind.

Not suspicion.

She was simply, purely curious.

Then why exactly was he trying to help her?

Why wasn’t he leaving her in despair but instead trying to pull her back up?

Why was he trying to help her when he wanted nothing from her?

Weren’t humans creatures that only moved when they wanted something?

Soon, the answer to the subordinate woman’s question came from Anagin’s lips.

“Still, there’s one thing I do like about you. No matter what, you’re trying to save your younger sisters.”

“I, I.......”

“I don’t want to hear it, so shut up. I’m not interested in what you have to say.”

Anagin cut her off.

Words were nothing more than wind. Actions were what truly had value.

And Anagin demanded something valuable.

“Decide right now. Are you going to sit still and do nothing? Or are you going to at least try something? Act like an older sister.”

The subordinate woman didn’t answer.

Instead, she roughly wiped away the tears flowing from her eyes and began taking care of her younger sisters.

Seeing that, Anagin smiled.

“Pinku-Pinku.”

“Yes, Brother.”

At Anagin’s call, Sphinx straightened up and answered. Her voice sounded more serious than usual, too.

“Looks like that girl doesn’t have enough hands to manage on her own. Help her out a little.”

“Okay. But are you sure about this?”

Sphinx asked while gesturing toward the ugly one, who was staring this way with an uncomfortable expression.

“She’s nothing special.”

Anagin answered briefly and simply. As if proving he wasn’t lying, he tossed Pairon, hanging from his waist, onto the ground.

Thud-!

Despite its appearance, Pairon let out a heavy sound as it transformed into a giant boar and formed a massive wall.

“You help them too.”

Kweeeeeeiik-!

Pairon answered with a blast of hot breath, and Anagin walked toward the ugly one who had waited for him.

“Thanks for waiting.”

"I was just dumbfounded."  

“By what?”

"Because you're acting arrogantly as if you've already taken my head. Forgetting how much trouble you had against me."  

Instead of replying with “Aren’t you the one forgetting you ran away from me?”, Anagin smirked.

Not a sneer deliberately made to irritate his opponent, but a rather natural smile carrying genuine amusement.

The ugly one asked irritably.

“What’s so funny?”

“It’s funny seeing the bitch who was too scared of me to move acting tough.”

Anagin spoke while looking at the ugly one’s faintly trembling hand.

Fear wasn’t exactly easy to hide.

Besides.

"Did you happen to come here imagining the me you faced on the first day?"  

“What are you talking about?”

“Exactly what I said. If that’s the case, then you made a mistake.”

“......?”

“I fight better when I’m pissed off. Know what that means?”

“.......”

"You're fucked."  

Using those words as his signal, Anagin instantly released the Energy(Γι) concentrated into his right arm and threw a giant's fist large enough to fill the entire cave.

* * *

Kugugugugugugugu...............!

A massive lump of Energy(Γι) shaped like a fist rapidly surged forward, filling the underwater cave that could hardly be called narrow.

With an indescribable roar, rocks, stalactites, stalagmites, and stone pillars were destroyed, and before long, the cave entrance exploded apart as a woman was blasted backward.

It was the ugly one, a bishop of the Barbaroi Cult.

“Kuugh...!”

Even though she had wrapped the water on the ground around herself like a shield to absorb the impact when Anagin threw the giant's fist, the shock far exceeded her expectations and left her dazed.

She hadn’t expected this level of firepower.

Even after experiencing it herself, she still found it hard to process. For a moment, she even wondered if it had all been a dream.

But it was reality.

As if proving it, the underwater cave entrance had widened dramatically from the giant's fist, stone fragments rained down from above, and dust spread lightly through the air.

Could it be... he’d been hiding his strength this whole time?

The moment the ugly one thought that—

Something flew toward her at high speed.

It was a solid boulder crammed full of Energy(Γι).

Pak-!

The ugly one gathered the water from the ground and formed a trident, smashing the rock apart.

Shiver-!

But the instant she blocked the attack, the ugly one felt chills run down her spine and looked below.

Below her was Anagin, crouched so low he was almost fused with the ground, wielding the Beast Devourer and aiming for her legs.

Swishh!

At the last possible moment, the ugly one leaped upward and avoided Anagin’s blade.

However.

“Pigmenes.”

She failed to avoid Pigmenes Anagin summoned.

Kweeeeeeiik-!

A burning piglet burst out from the Beast Devourer and lunged at the ugly one. Startled, she tried to block it with her trident, but—

Thud-thud-thud—!  

Anagin plucked feathers from his wing guards and threw them, making her hesitate.

Taking advantage of that brief opening, the piglet opened its mouth and began sucking away the ugly one’s energy.

“Kgh...!”

Perhaps because she was a bishop of the Barbaroi Cult, or perhaps because she was borrowing the power of a mermaid, a considerable amount of energy was drained in one go.

This should be enough.......

The moment Anagin thought that, a giant sea serpent had already crawled onto land and swallowed the piglet clinging to the ugly one in whole.

“Haaak...! Haaak...!”

The ugly one gasped heavily, seemingly unable to keep up with the relentless assault.

She really shouldn’t be struggling from just this much.......

“What are you doing? Get out already.”

At Anagin’s words, the sea serpent’s belly bulged grotesquely before a burning blade burst out and split it open.

From the torn abdomen emerged a bipedal Pigmenes—the so-called medium-sized Pigmenes.

The medium-sized Pigmenes grabbed the writhing sea serpent with its split-open stomach and opened its mouth, devouring both blood and energy.

“.......”

Seeing that, the ugly one’s face paled slightly. She gathered the trident in her hand, and the water pooled on the ground to form a rowboat, then immediately began fleeing toward the sea.

After canceling the summoning of the medium-sized Pigmenes, Anagin infused Energy(Γι) into both legs, kicked off the ground, and instantly closed the distance.

Fwoosh......!

The flames lodged in the right side of his chest had been tormenting Anagin for a while now, but so what?

Anagin gritted his teeth and ignored the searing pain in his chest as he charged forward.

Just as he was about to catch the ugly one—

Phwish-!

A squad of archerfish from the sea right in front of him shot thick streams of water toward Anagin to obstruct him.

Anagin temporarily gave up on catching the ugly one and leaped upward.

Then, while still in midair, he pulled out a scroll from his arms and tore it apart.

Riiip-!

Underwater Step.

Originally, he had planned to save it for the fisherman mage, but.......

"Like I care."

The magic imbued within the scroll wrapped around Anagin as he landed on top of the sea.

Around the same time, the ugly one returned to the ocean and showed a look of horror mixed with relief.

The sea was basically her home turf, or something like that.

As if proving it, the archerfish filled with water fired streams of water at Anagin to keep him in check, and immediately afterward, sharp-toothed fish lunged at him from all directions at once.

It wasn’t anything surprising.

Anagin already roughly remembered the ugly one’s fighting style.

If things turned unfavorable, she would drag the opponent into the sea, pressure them with schools of fish under her control, then aim for the openings that created.

Anagin had experienced it firsthand, so he remembered all of it.

Naturally, he had also prepared countermeasures.

“Pigmenes.”

At Anagin’s call, Pigmenes was summoned from Beast Devourer once more.

If there was a difference, it was a bipedal medium-sized Pigmenes, not a piglet.

And there were four of them.

‘That was barely enough for the summon. Good thing I kept replenishing it whenever I could.’

Looking at the patterns engraved on Beast Devourer’s blade, Anagin instinctively realized it.

“Summons?”

Seeing the summoned Pigmenes, the ugly one muttered as though she couldn’t understand it.

After all, the scroll’s magic only affected Anagin, not Pigmenes.

Simply put, Pigmenes weren’t particularly useful at sea. For starters, they couldn’t stand on water.

Of course, Anagin wasn’t ignorant of such an obvious fact.

He had summoned them despite knowing it.

To begin with, he had never expected anything grand from Pigmenes.

“Block them.”

Crunch! Stab! Bite! Snap!

Their role was merely to act as meat shields and take the attacks of the fish charging from every direction in his place.

The Pigmenes summoned around Anagin formed a wall of flesh to protect him, and just as they were about to be dragged beneath the surface and torn to pieces—

[Horizontal Slash]

Shouting the flashy technique name, Anagin swung the Beast Devourer infused with Energy(Γι) in a massive arc, almost forming a complete circle.

“You lunatic...!”

The ugly one stared in shock at Anagin, who had sliced apart the entire school of fish along with his own summons.

But Anagin didn’t care.

Wasn’t this exactly what summons were for in the first place?

Besides, he could immediately refill whatever was consumed.

Raising the Beast Devourer, Anagin absorbed all the blood from the countless fish split in half at once before approaching the ugly one.

The ugly one’s eyes shook at Anagin’s approach.

As if realizing she could no longer take him lightly, she suppressed her fear and transformed.

Fins sprouted around her head like a crown, and shining scales covered her skin. Her slender legs fused together into the shape of a fish tail.

At first glance, it was a beautiful appearance straight out of a fairy tale.

However, to Anagin, who already knew it was a stolen form and had seen her true appearance before, it stirred no particular feelings.

More importantly, he didn’t even have the mental room to care because of the flames burning in the right side of his chest.

Almost there.

Anagin exhaled hot breath as he thought that.

Perhaps sensing the abnormality in Anagin, the subordinate woman raised a gigantic wave and tried to swallow him whole.

As if he had been waiting for that exact moment, Anagin stretched his hand into the air and shouted.

[Longbald]

Longbald appeared along with the call.

Ignoring the giant wave rushing toward him like an enormous wall, Anagin submerged Longbald beneath the seawater, grabbed it with both hands, and swung it upward in a rising strike from below.

━━━━━━━━━━!!!

As Longbald resonated with the seawater and its power surged explosively, the giant wave shattered and scattered across the sky.

Pitter-patter...!

The shattered wave poured down like rain, and amidst it, Anagin spotted the ugly one suspended helplessly in midair.

Leaping upward, Anagin aimed the Beast Devourer at the ugly one.

The moment he was about to strike the target he had been waiting for, his concentration rose to the absolute limit, and because of it, time seemed to slow down.

That was when he saw it.

Part of the seawater falling from above tangled together and transformed into the shape of a human.

“Hmph, this is what happens when you don’t fight properly.”

The fisherman mage appeared from the gathered seawater.

The bastard spoke to the ugly one.

“Pigmenes.”

Regardless, Anagin swung the Beast Devourer.

Claaang-!

The fisherman mage blocked it with the harpoon he swung, and Anagin landed back on the sea without accomplishing much.

In contrast, the fisherman mage leisurely landed on the water after rescuing the ugly one, who had nearly died.

Pshhk-!

And he had even managed to put another hole in Anagin’s body.

“You were far too impatient. Did you think I wasn’t going to show up? And to already use the scroll too. At this rate, how much.......”

The fisherman mage, happily rambling after landing a hit on Anagin, suddenly stopped speaking as he noticed something strange.

That something was.......

“So that’s why the hairstyle looked slightly different.”

Anagin spoke while raising one arm.

On top of his arm sat a piglet holding a head ornament shaped like a mermaid bound tightly in ropes.

It was something he had snatched while the fisherman mage stabbed him with the harpoon.

Oink!

Without even being told, the piglet obediently placed the head ornament onto Anagin’s hand before being reverse-summoned.

Keeping his head turned toward the fisherman mage, Anagin clenched the ornament and crushed it.

"First, one."