Berserk of Gluttony (LN) - Volume 2 - Chapter 26

Chapter 26:

The Village of Oblivion 

AFTER A FEW MORE BATTLES with wandering orcs, we arrived at the ruins of a village. Little remained of the place, save for piles of rubble and the bare frames of what had once been houses. So much time had passed since its construction that, at first glance, the buildings looked like mountains of dirt. Was this where Myne’s so-called fearsome enemy resided? It didn’t look like much. 

As Myne walked through the village, she turned back to speak to me. “This village was where I was born,” she said. “But I was taken to the imperial capital not long after birth, so I don’t have any memories of it. Still, this place is important to me.” 

“ This is your hometown?” 

That didn’t make any sense. By the looks of things, this village had been in ruins for thousands of years. Indeed, if I remembered correctly, the Galians had been wiped out some four millennia ago. If Myne was telling the truth, she had to have been born when the village was still inhabited, even thriving. That would make her…more than four thousand years old. 

No way. But she looks so young! 

Then I remembered her words to Aaron. I’m…a spirit who is not allowed death. 

I’d always thought Myne was older than her appearance let on, but I never imagined she could be four thousand years old. Like Aaron said, she truly was on an entirely different level from us humans. He and I were practically children to her. 

Four thousand years… I’d lived in these lands for around sixteen years myself. When I looked back on my life, that felt like ages. Myne had experienced a lifespan more than two hundred times that length. I definitely understood why you’d lose track of smaller details if you lived that long. 

If Greed and Myne were acquainted, that might mean Greed was also in the realm of thousands of years old. The sword had confessed that they’d known each other a long time, and that Myne couldn’t give up on what she’d never get back. Was this lost thing what drove her to keep going all these millennia? What could I learn of her if I followed her just a little further? After all, if this—her past, her secrets—intertwined with the Skills of Mortal Sin, I was no mere bystander. This was important to me, too. 

“Myne, the monster we have to fight, is it here in this village?” 

“Yes. But it’s a tough enemy for me to take alone. Therefore, I need your power.” 

“But…what is it? Is it okay for us to stroll around out in the open like this?” 

“It’s fine. As for what it is… When you see it, you’ll know.” 

I gathered from that comment that it was not the kind of monster that would take the initiative to engage us. I’d gripped Greed this whole time, waiting for an ambush, but it turned out I didn’t need to worry. There still wasn’t a single monster in the village. The entire area was so unnervingly quiet that it was terrifying. 

At the very center of the ruined village was a massive cemetery, a collection of graves damaged by time and weather. At the center of the cemetery rested an equally massive, mysterious cocoon of pure white. It stood at least ten times my height. 

Is that the monster?! Is it okay to casually walk up to it like this?! 

On instinct, I drew the black sword from its scabbard. 

“No…” Greed muttered, disgust at the edge of his voice. “I can’t believe one of these things is still alive.” 

“Greed, what is it?” 

“It’s a chimera,” he said. “Sometimes called a mechangel. They were a test project a long time ago, in Galia’s distant past, designed as defense measures for the imperial capital. Funny, though. I could have sworn they were all deactivated.” 

“Are you saying this cocoon is an ancient weapon…?” 

“I’m glad you’re paying attention. As you so astutely observed, yes. The chimera is one of the Galian military’s biological weapons, made from stitched-together pieces of a whole host of monsters. If you ask me, this is their most horrendous failure.” 

Most horrendous failure?! I didn’t like the sound of that. From what I could see, it was just as quiet inside the cocoon as outside. I almost felt like it was best to leave it as it was. I glanced at Myne, standing by my side. 

“That’s it. What we came here to defeat,” she said. “Are you ready, Fate?” 

Well, so much for leaving it alone . The cocoon was huge, and despite Greed’s description, I had no idea what was inside it. On top of that, I’d never fought anything quite so big before. I didn’t have the slightest clue how to approach it in battle without being crushed. 

Myne noted my pained grin. “It’s still in its larval form,” she said. “With your stats, you can take it. The problem is, even when you destroy this monster’s body, it won’t die until you kill its soul. And that is why I need your Gluttony.” 

“You need Gluttony to eat the chimera’s soul?” 

“Yes. Among all the Skills of Mortal Sin, Gluttony commits the deepest sin. You bear the skill most despised by the gods.” 

Uh…wait. I don’t have any bones to pick with the gods. I just happened to be born with Gluttony. 

Because of the misfortune of my birth, I had been deserted by the world and the gods who watched over it. I was relegated to an existence in which, no matter how many monsters I defeated, I would never earn Spheres and never level up. Instead, I had to rely solely on my Gluttony to grow stronger. Even then, Gluttony refused to listen to my commands. The single skill I had been born with was a skill that would consume me in my entirety if I gave it half the chance. 

And…what did Myne mean by it being the skill that commited the deepest sin? 

“Do you mean that among the Skills of Mortal Sin, Gluttony is the strongest?” I asked. 

“Yes,” Myne replied. “It defies the very law of levels the gods created. Before that happens, though, the skill completely consumes its bearer.” 

“I know that feeling well. It’s happening even as we speak. So, where does Wrath sit in the rankings, then?” 

“Wrath is fourth. Above it are Avarice and Lust. Still, Gluttony stands out so much that all the others are considered about equal.” 

Another word for Avarice is… I glanced down at the black sword in my hand. 

“Weapons of Mortal Sin depend on their owners,” said Greed. “Rankings mean nothing to us.” 

“Greed, are you saying…your power relies on who wields you?” 

“Of course I am. Whether I live or die depends on you. Enough talk. Unlock my next level, already!” 

If only it were that easy. Even after killing the lich lord, I still didn’t have enough stats to unlock Greed’s third form. If where I now stood wasn’t enough for him, it just went to show that the black sword was even greedier than I thought. 

Then again, Greed had said unlocking the levels wasn’t just about stats. The mental strength of the wielder was also important. So perhaps I just didn’t have the requisite battle experience. I had a long way to go before I caught up to a warrior like Aaron. 

I sighed and settled my gaze back on the cocoon that towered, gleaming, over us. I checked its stats with Identify. 

Chimera Haniel, Lv 1 

Vitality: 26,000,000 

Strength: 29,000,000 

Magic: 24,000,000 

Spirit: 28,000,000 

Agility: 14,000,000 

Skills: ERROR 

Whoa. This thing was strong . And it was still just a larva? I stumbled back, caught my boot on a gravestone, and fell on my ass in surprise. Outside of Agility, it had more than double my stats in each category. And for some reason, Identify couldn’t get a clear reading on the monster’s skills. This whole thing seemed like a recipe for getting caught flat-footed if we fought the chimera head on. 

“You aren’t fighting alone, Fate,” said Myne. “You have me. When we fought the orcs, I could tell that you weren’t used to fighting with a partner, so don’t worry about trying to match my pace. I’ll match yours.” 

“Thanks. I appreciate it,” I said, and I meant it. “But why can’t I read this monster’s skills? Identify keeps showing me the word ‘error.’” 

“Don’t worry about it. Your Identify skill can’t read its skills because they’re unstable. The chimera is an artificial creation sewn together from other monsters, all held together by a soul at its core.” 

Of course I’m going to worry about it! 

Myne said all these disturbing facts so casually, but this was a matter of life and death. From what I gathered, the chimera—Haniel—possessed a multitude of imperfect skills. Until this moment, I’d been able to go into battle armed with an idea of what my opponent was bringing to the table. With Haniel, that was impossible. 

On top of that, Haniel was stronger than anything I’d fought before, and I wouldn’t learn anything more about it until we were already locked in battle. All at once, I felt a rush of anxiety through my entire body. 

“You know, this might well be the perfect test for you, Fate,” said Greed. “If you screw up here, you won’t be able to defeat the Heavenly Calamity, even in your dreams. So, lift my blade and prepare!” 

“I keep telling you,” I said, getting back to my feet. “Don’t tell me what I already know.” 

I took a fighting stance, the black sword Greed at the ready. Myne watched me. As soon as she was sure I was ready, she raised her black axe and launched her attack. The axe landed heavily. Fracture lines exploded along the white cocoon as though it were a cracked egg. 

Out from the cracked cocoon stepped the gleaming chimera. 

It was titanic. Metal piping linked the grotesque creature together, a patchwork creation forged from pieces of countless monsters. The seething beast was white from head to toe, as though it had been chemically bleached, and at its very center was a sight that shocked me. 

“Is that a person…?!” 

“That is the chimera’s core.” 

The young girl bound into the core of the monster opened her eyes. Her hair hung long and white, and her eyes were stained an intimidating shade of crimson.