Berserk of Gluttony (LN) - Volume 2 - Chapter 21

Chapter 21:

New Possibilities 

THE LIGHT FADED to reveal a beaten, broken lich lord slumped against the wall. The battle was over. Our double Grand Cross had broken through the crowned beast’s Magic stats and inflicted upon it a fatal wound. 

As the lich lord’s power faded, so too did its control over the dead. As we watched, the citizens’ souls were released from the prison of their bodies. The old corpses had been pushed well past their limits, and the dead bodies that once blocked Aaron’s path with intertwined, rotting arms now crumbled into peaceful dust. 

We had no time to lose. 

“Aaron,” I said. “Your family. We have to get to them, quickly!” 

We ran back the way we came, apprehension in Aaron’s eyes and spreading into his furrowed expression. 

We found Aaron’s wife and son lying on the floor next to each other. They were already disintegrating, their legs crumbling into dust. As Aaron took his place at their sides, his wife and son slowly opened their eyes to look at him. 

Was the lich lord’s will still controlling their corpses? I gripped the hilt of the black sword tight, my senses on highest alert. Instead of the presence of the monster, I noticed something strange: there was life in their sunken eyes. They did not gaze at Aaron with the hollow stare of undead puppets. 

“Father…” his son said. 

“My darling,” said Aaron’s wife. “I’m…I’m so sorry…” 

Aaron threw his sword to the ground and fell to his knees before them, gripping their hands tightly in his own. 

How is this happening? I thought. Aaron’s family died long, long ago… 

“Remember what I told you?” asked Greed. “The souls of these people were trapped in their corpses. When they were released from the lich lord’s control, their souls were granted this instant of freedom. But it is only an instant.” 

“I see…” 

Was this moment of freedom truly a good thing? I feared it would only deepen the grief in Aaron’s heart. Then again, perhaps this chance was what he had yearned for all along. 

As they spoke, I watched silently over the three: Aaron, his wife, and his son. 

“Father, I’m sorry…I couldn’t protect the castle. I couldn’t protect it and…even in death I was made a puppet… I attacked you…” 

“You don’t have to worry about any of that now,” Aaron said, his face and voice gentle. “I should have been there with you. I should have been with you far more than I was. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” 

Aaron’s wife covered his hand with her own. “My darling, you did nothing wrong. There was nothing else you could have done. And, in the end, you saved us. Freed us. You have to move on and walk the path you believe in as the Blade of Light.” 

“Don’t worry about us,” said his son. “We’ll be fine, Father.” 

The two faded further and further into dust. Their grips weakened even as they gazed up at Aaron. Time was running out. 

A single tear ran down Aaron’s face as he smiled at his family. “With the time I have left, I’ll live a life you will be proud of. So…you don’t have to worry about me, either.” 

Aaron’s wife and son smiled back, and in the next moment, his family’s bodies dissipated completely. All that remained were two small spheres of pale-blue light. The spheres swirled upward from the last scatterings of dust, hovering in the air as they drifted around Aaron. 

“Greed, what are those?” I whispered. 

“Their souls. When a soul fills with a strong enough emotion, it becomes visible. This is how much they loved him.” 

“Ah. A precious farewell in their final moments…” 

“Indeed. However, Fate, we still have unfinished business…” 

He was talking about Gluttony. Even now, the metallic voice still hadn’t activated, and that meant that the lich lord was still alive. That monster was nothing if not a persistent thorn in our side. I turned back to the hall, only to find the lich lord crawling along the ground, dragging itself toward us inch by inch, even with its arms severed from its torso. 

“You will never bother Aaron or his people again,” I said. I transformed Greed into the black bow and loaded an arrow charged with earth magic. “Let’s see how you enjoy an eternity of suffering.” 

I fired the arrow point-blank between the lich lord’s eyes. 

The arrow did not falter. It plunged straight through the lich lord, and in the arrow’s wake, the monster’s body became brittle stone, crackling down from its head through the rest of its gruesome form. The crowned beast didn’t even have a chance to cry out before it froze in place. 

Gluttony skill activated. Stats increased: Vitality +3,640,000, Strength +2,560,000, Magic +4,565,000, Spirit +4,346,000, Agility +2,347,000. New skills added: Hallucination (Spell), Magic Boost (High), Spirit Boost (High). 

The dreaded lich lord had been reduced to nothing more than a terrifying statue with a hideous visage. 

Truthfully, even in death, the lich gazed out with such a terrifying snarl that I was sure that even if I’d put the statue up for sale, nobody would have bought it for fear of being cursed by its grimace. The lich lord was a fearsome foe. 

Directly after that thought came the expected maddening bliss that accompanied devouring a crowned beast. Gluttony tried to wrest control of my body from me. The lich lord’s soul was an exquisite dish, richer than rich, sublime —unlike any beast I’d yet devoured. 

I grit my teeth, but a pained groan escaped my lips. I shifted Greed back into the black sword and gripped the hilt, digging my fingers into the metal, focusing the entirety of my energy on not losing my very consciousness to the violent ecstasy of Gluttony. 

In a matter of moments, the insanity passed. I’d successfully fought back the worst of Gluttony. I whispered a quiet thanks to the training I’d endured to control my Skill of Mortal Sin. If I could bear eating a soul as powerful as the lich lord’s, then I was confident I could handle even more formidable foes. Regardless of my current abilities, complete control was still a long way away: the stress of enduring Gluttony’s fit of ecstasy had caused bloody tears to leak from the corners of my eyes. 

I used the glassy reflection of the obsidian blade of the black sword to wipe the blood from my face. I stared into the eyes of my reflection. They’d returned to their normal black. Gluttony’s hunger was satisfied. 

I took another moment to catch my breath before I turned back to Aaron. The light of the souls drifting around him slowly dimmed. He watched them fade, and I felt that part of him was sad to see them go, even as voiceless spirits. 

“Wait for me,” he said, to the ebbing lights, to the empty hall. “When I finish what I have to do, I’ll be with you once more.” 

The two souls vanished into the darkness, as though Aaron’s words gave them the confidence they needed to move on. The only living presence remaining in the castle was Aaron and myself. Silence fell upon us, so engulfing that it was hard to imagine a vicious battle had taken place mere moments ago. 

Aaron glanced over at me. With a slightly awkward, almost embarrassed look on his face, he broke the silence. “Fate, I’m very sorry to trouble you further, but…may I ask another favor of you?” 

“What do you have in mind?” 

“I want to start over in Hausen. I promised my family I would. But numerous monsters have made a home of the city while I’ve been gone. Will you help me clear them out?” 

Aaron wanted to rebuild his estate, but before he could begin that considerable undertaking, he needed to make it safe. That meant combing through the entire city to hunt down every last skeleton lurking in the back alleys, perched on the roofs, and hiding in the buildings. That could take all night…or, given the size of the city, perhaps another entire day from dawn until dusk. 

Even given the size of the task, it wasn’t really a question. If my master asked me for help, then, as his student, I was duty-bound to lend a hand. 

“I’m here,” I said. “And besides, I could do with a little more practice.” 

“Still good to go, eh?” Aaron said, his old cheer returning. “How about you lead the strike this time?” 

“Works for me. You should probably take it easy, anyway, since you’ve got that injury.” 

Aaron laughed. “Hah! This? ’Tis but a scratch!” 

The old knight was nothing if not tough, but still, I didn’t want him to overdo it. After all, as far as I knew, no magic could heal another person’s wounds and injuries. I knew if I tried to stop Aaron, he simply wouldn’t listen. So rather than keep him out of the fray, I’d just have to put my own Health Regen to good use and do my best. 

“Well,” I said, “shall we take a short break and then get to it?” 

“No. We start immediately.” 

“What?!” 

Never mind . Aaron was too tough for his own good. All his talk of being an old man in his twilight years was impossible to believe. But before I could voice any of my thoughts, Aaron let out a startled yelp. 

“Aaron! What’s wrong?!” 

Aaron chuckled to himself, his eyes glimmering with surprise. “I can’t believe it…!” he muttered. “It’s possible. It’s really possible…” 

I stood there, waiting for him to clarify, unsure of what had just happened. 

“Looks like even an old dog like me really can learn some new tricks! Fate, I’ve reached my limit break. I’ve leveled up!” 

“Whoa. Seriously?” 

“Yes. There are still new levels for me to reach!” 

Just like skills, every person was born with a maximum level, or “level cap.” Once this level cap was reached, further leveling up was impossible. Additionally, as people aged and their bodies deteriorated, they reached a point where their level stopped increasing no matter how many monsters they felled in battle. The rare act of breaking through this level barrier was known as the “limit break.” According to Aaron, a limit break allowed a person to grow ten times beyond their current level. Even in legends, only a very small number of adventurers had ever reached their limit break. Since so few examples of the phenomenon were recorded, Aaron told me that he had no idea why he’d reached it now. 

“Perhaps,” he said, “it’s the influence of strength, Fate. Perhaps by fighting alongside you, and coming in touch with your untapped inner powers, I unlocked my limit break.” 

“My inner powers?” 

The only inner power I could think of was Gluttony. Was it really possible that Gluttony was the reason Aaron had reached his limit break? I had no way of knowing. I’d never fought beside anyone else. 

“He’s not wrong. There is a kind of…influence that occurs when people fight alongside a person whose skills defy the natural order of the gods,” said Greed. “The influence does not reach everyone, only those who are truly accepted by the bearers of the Skills of Mortal Sin. Good or bad, this is how a limit break is reached.” 

“Why didn’t you tell me any of this earlier?” 

“Because it’s not usually relevant now, is it? I suspect the legends of past limit breaks likely hide a Skill of Mortal Sin somewhere in their shadows.” 

As Greed and I muttered at each other, Aaron was giddy with excitement at his new level and its accompanying new possibilities. 

“Fate,” he cried, “this is not the time to be talking to yourself! It’s time to clean out the skeletons from the dusty old closets they’ve made home! Who knows, maybe we’ll see another level up on the way.” 

“You seem…excited.” 

“That’s because I’ve got so much to look forward to! Let’s go!” Aaron bounded out of the castle. 

“Aaron,” I called in hurried pursuit. “Wait. We’ve got one major problem!” 

He didn’t even slow down. “Problem?” 

“Myne is going to be blind with rage if we’re late.” 

“Ah, I see… How about a compromise, then? What if we raise her reward for protecting the village to a hundred gold? Surely that will satisfy a girl with an eye for coin!” 

Aaron was smart. He’d only talked with Myne a few times, but he’d already pinpointed her weakness. She’d be only too happy to forgive our late return if double the gold accompanied it. I could already see the joy in her eyes as she counted the coins. 

Now that we had that issue settled, we could fight to our hearts’ content! Using the stats I’d absorbed from the lich lord, I bounded past Aaron and retook the lead. 

“Hey,” I called back, “I thought you said you’d leave the lead to me! Shouldn’t you try acting your age? Leave some scraps for the youngsters!” 

“Hm, I did say that, didn’t I? But it’s been a long time. I’m in the mood to run a little rampant!” 

Aaron’s jaunty smile was contagious. I found myself grinning as well. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?” 

We’d arrived at the same understanding: a hunting competition. As we sprang into battle, our voices cried out in unison. “It’s on!” 

It was time to take Hausen back from the death that had smothered it for so long. At this rate, we’d clear out the city well ahead of schedule.