Chapter 196

Chapter 196. The First Meeting (4)

The moment he sensed something was wrong, a gigantic hand appeared in midair and enveloped Sphinx.

Like a child carefully cupping a tiny insect.

“Brother.”

Sphinx instinctively called out to Anagin, and the moment he saw her, his eyes widened.

Despite always pretending to be indifferent, Anagin immediately tried to move to save Sphinx. But...

‘No, that's not it.’

That wasn't why Sphinx had called out to him.

Aesop wouldn't harm her, so there was no need to save her.

At most, he would simply restrain her for a while.

The real reason Sphinx had called Anagin was to tell him to run.

She had underestimated the situation.

She had mistakenly believed that things could be settled if she simply mediated.

Even though she didn't have as much authority as her mother.

Countless thoughts flashed through Sphinx's mind along with a wave of belated regret.

Just as she opened her mouth to warn Anagin, it was already too late.

A gigantic, pale, emaciated hand appeared beneath Anagin's feet, while another materialized above his head, and together they enclosed him.

“L-Lord Aesop!”

Seeing Anagin trapped inside the giant hand, Sphinx cried out to Aesop almost hysterically.

Because she could vividly picture Anagin dying.

In stark contrast to Sphinx's frantic voice, Aesop remained calm and courteous.

“You may simply call me Aesop, Princess.”

What a lunatic.

Sphinx cursed inwardly.

He wasn't mocking her.

The fact that he was genuinely treating her with courtesy made it all the more bizarre and unsettling.

“Please let him go!”

Looking at Anagin, completely imprisoned between the giant hands above and below him, Sphinx pleaded.

“I'm afraid I cannot do that.”

Creeeak...!

The gigantic hands surrounding Anagin slowly began to compress.

Realizing what was happening, Anagin seemed to be trying to break free. Flames flickered through the gaps between the enormous fingers. He had likely activated the new blessing of fire he had obtained. However...

Sssssizzle...

Just as Sphinx had expected, the flames burning above the sea around Anagin were extinguished almost instantly.

After all, those hands had been created by directly borrowing a god's power.

“Aesop! There's no need to kill him!”

Sphinx decided to persuade Aesop before the hands completely crushed Anagin.

There was nothing else she could do.

“Using the Princess as a familiar is more than sufficient reason to kill him.”

“I agreed to it!”

“Your wishes are irrelevant, Princess. What matters is that the Queen Consort would find it displeasing.”

“...!”

For a moment, Sphinx was rendered speechless.

Instead, a low animalistic growl escaped her throat.

Pretending not to hear it, Aesop continued speaking.

“This is for the best. I shall escort you back to the Queen Consort. She has been worried about you.”

“Haha...”

Instead of replying or cursing at him, Sphinx let out a laugh.

Then she suddenly thanked him.

“Thank you...”

“Think nothing of it.”

“For reminding me why I left my mother's side.”

With those words, Sphinx released her transformation.

Returning not to the adorable cat, but to her true form.

A form so enormous, so terrifying, that she herself despised it.

She intended to break free from the giant hand restraining her in that form and save Anagin herself.

If nothing else, Anagin had been right about this.

If you wanted something, you had to do it yourself.

“You know that's impossible.”

With a single wave of Aesop's hand, Sphinx, who had been reverting to her true form, was forced back into her cat form.

It felt as though someone had directly manipulated her body and forcibly canceled her transformation.

Crrrk...!

Powerlessly subdued, Sphinx clenched her teeth so hard they creaked, overcome with an indescribably filthy feeling.

She had expected this.

She had known it would be useless.

Even so, the frustration was unbearable.

It was the first time she had ever felt so powerless because she lacked strength.

Meanwhile, the giant hands surrounding Anagin continued to tighten, slowly crushing everything inside.

Sphinx could do nothing but watch helplessly through the gaps between the fingers.

Thud.

“......”

“......”

Without a word, both Sphinx and Aesop stared at the hand enclosing Anagin.

It had just moved slightly.

It could have been their imagination.

No, it had to be.

Logically speaking, it was impossible for a person to move that hand.

At least, according to both Aesop's and Sphinx's understanding.

If one had to compare it to something, it would be like an ant pushing away a human hand.

Crack...

As if to mock that belief, the trembling fingers twitched several more times before a gap finally opened between the little finger and the ring finger.

Through that narrow opening, Anagin emerged, gripping the Beast Devourer as he desperately forced the fingers apart.

“Haa... Damn it, I seriously thought I was going to die.”

Sweating profusely, Anagin finally squeezed out from between the giant fingers and said exactly that.

* * *

“Huff... Huff...”

Sweating profusely, Anagin collapsed onto the ground and caught his breath.

He knew that sitting down and openly exposing his exhaustion in front of an enemy was idiotic.

But that depended on who the opponent was.

Rather than putting on a bluff that wouldn't work anyway, Anagin decided to recover his stamina. His entire body was trembling from exhaustion.

‘What the hell was that?’

Keeping his eyes fixed on Aesop, Anagin replayed what had happened inside the giant hand.

Before he knew it, enormous hands had appeared above his head and beneath his feet, enclosing him.

So quickly that he hadn't even had time to react.

Having already been on guard, Anagin rubbed his palms together to create flames.

He wanted to give his opponent a taste of burning heat.

However, the inferno that had instantly brought down the fisherman mage was extinguished just as quickly.

Then the hands surrounding him began to tighten.

If this continued, he'd obviously be crushed to death.

Without hesitation, Anagin drew the Beast Devourer and stabbed the hand enclosing him.

After all, the Barbaroi Cult and the Beast Devourer had always been in a clear superior-subordinate relationship.

At least, until now.

But as though mocking that assumption, the Beast Devourer was completely ineffective. Its razor-sharp blade couldn't even leave the slightest scratch on the skin.

Even more shocking was the fact that Anagin instinctively knew it was useless.

Whenever he faced an opponent his blade didn't cut well, he could always sense that if he adjusted his technique and swung properly, he could still slice through them.

And he always had.

But not this time.

No matter how carefully or precisely he swung, Anagin instinctively knew he couldn't leave so much as a single wound on those hands.

‘Fuck this…’

Helplessness.

It had been a long time since he'd experienced such a sickening feeling.

Meanwhile, the hands continued closing in from above and below, squeezing him tighter.

The ever-shrinking space.

The stifling air.

The rising heat.

The crushing pressure that increased in proportion.

His body being forcibly curled into itself.

Anagin wondered if this was how the ants he used to play with as a child had felt.

The ants would be toyed with until they were exhausted...

Then crushed into dust.

But Anagin wasn't an ant.

And he had no intention of becoming dust.

If blades wouldn't work, then he'd have to force his way out with strength.

Crouching low, Anagin braced his entire body against the hands enclosing him, trying to create even the smallest opening.

He didn't know exactly what those hands were.

But in the end, they were still hands.

He targeted the comparatively weaker little finger and ring finger, throwing his entire body into pushing them apart.

Even after straining every muscle in his body, the damned fingers didn't budge an inch.

But Anagin ignored that and kept pushing.

Whether he struggled to death or simply accepted death, the outcome would be the same.

Drip. Drip.

Sweat poured from his entire body.

Thump. Thump.

His heart pounded violently.

Crack. Creak.

His joints screamed in agony.

Even so...

Anagin refused to give up and continued forcing every ounce of strength out of his body.

Then, as if rewarding that determination ever so slightly, the gap between the fingers that had seemed absolutely immovable opened just enough for him to squeeze through.

And that was how he had ended up like this.

“Hooooo...”

After finally steadying his breathing, Anagin couldn't help thinking how lucky he had been.

To be hit with such a lethal attack right from the start.

The fact that he had survived was nothing short of incredible luck.

Of course, he was even luckier that Aesop wasn't attacking him now, despite the fact that he was completely vulnerable, and was instead staring at him with curious eyes.

Honestly, if Aesop had attacked the moment he escaped, he would've been completely helpless.

He had no idea why the man hadn't attacked.

But he was damn lucky.

‘It's been a long time since I've felt this cornered... Maybe I stand a chance if I lure him onto the sea?’

Even while feeling utterly overwhelmed by the opponent before him, Anagin searched for a way to win.

The most promising option was still to lure him out over the sea.

To be honest, he wasn't even sure that would work.

But it was the only card in his hand worth playing.

“How fascinating. And astonishing.”

Aesop, who had been quietly observing Anagin, suddenly spoke.

Anagin instantly sprang to his feet, preparing for another attack.

Aesop raised a hand, signaling him to calm down.

“I have no intention of attacking for the moment, so there's no need. I'd like to have a conversation.”

“Wow, you're really pissing me off.”

Anagin replied after reading the hidden meaning behind those words.

That he can crush him whenever he wants.

What made it even more irritating was that it wasn't empty bravado.

It was the truth.

“I mean that sincerely. Enough that I'm actually considering not killing you.”

“Oh, well, that's good to hear.”

Anagin gave credit where it was due.

Hearing that he wouldn't be killed right away was certainly welcome news.

As long as he stayed alive, there would always be another opportunity.

In some situations, merely surviving would still count as defeat.

But not this time.

“In return, you'll answer my questions.”

“The hell I will.”

Naturally, Anagin had no intention of cooperating.

If Aesop intended to kill him anyway, cooperating wouldn't save him.

And if he intended to spare him, refusing wouldn't change that.

There was no reason to play along.

As though he hadn't heard Anagin at all, Aesop calmly asked,

“How did you escape the hand? Normally, no one can.”

“Because I'm just that awesome.”

“How are you still burning with fighting spirit after escaping the hand? Most people lose their will.”

“Because I'm just that awesome.”

“---! -----!!”

Sphinx shouted something from between the fingers imprisoning her, but Anagin couldn't hear a single word.

Apparently, that was another property of those enormous pale hands.

Seriously...

They were revolting.

“Have you obtained an Emperor's Fragment?”

“What's that?”

Expecting Aesop to answer as readily as he had before, Anagin asked what an Emperor's Fragment was.

Because he genuinely didn't know.

But contrary to his expectations, Aesop didn't answer.

More accurately, he started to...

Then stopped.

Like a child who had just thought of something amusing.

“Let's make a wager. You see, I've heard quite a few rumors about you. Hero of the Outskirts, Practitioner Killer, Protector of Practitioners... Most of all, you're the practitioner who's trying to become a god.”

“...You got a problem with that?”

“None whatsoever. If you win the wager, I'll tell you something useful. The method to become a god through your own strength, without anyone's help.”

“......”

Even Anagin, who had been ready to answer flippantly if necessary, couldn't respond so easily this time.

The offer was simply too tempting.

A method to become a god.

By his own strength.

In other words...

Through the path of Jacheon.

It was practically the very goal Anagin had been pursuing.

Which was exactly why he was suspicious.

The reward was so enticing that it made him hesitate instead.

But that hesitation didn't last long.

Wasn't a practitioner someone who believed in themselves and forged ahead?

Even if it was a trap, he'd simply escape it with his own power.

Besides, whether it was a lie or a trap, information offered by the leader of the Barbaroi Cult would undoubtedly be valuable in itself.

Retreating had never been an option.

“What are the terms of the wager?”

“Simply survive without dying.”

As Aesop spoke, he brought his hands together.

He placed the fingertips of his left hand against the base of his right palm.

The instant that peculiar hand sign formed, the air began to tremble.

Then a foul...

An indescribably putrid stench of fish and salt exploded into the air.

It went beyond being merely unpleasant or nauseating.

The smell stabbed at his nose.

Made his eyes burn.

Threatened to make him lose consciousness.

It was as though rotten seaweed, soaked ropes, stagnant water trapped beneath an overturned ship, and tens of thousands of rotting fish had all been mixed together.

The odor clung like slime, sticking to his nose and lungs as though it would never come off.

That horrific smell was a form of violence.

With his heightened sense of smell, Anagin immediately clamped a hand over his nose.

Then, instinctively, he searched for the source of the stench.

The sea?

No.

The sky.

Just like the giant hands before it...

An enormous maw suddenly protruded from the heavens.

“A fish...?”

Staring up at the colossal mouth hanging in the sky, Anagin muttered without thinking.

Pointing at Anagin, Aesop pronounced his sentence.

[Roar]