Berserk of Gluttony (LN) - Volume 2 - Chapter 5

Chapter 5:

The Weight of a Fist 

COME MORNING, the heavy clouds peeled away, and the blue sky returned. I picked across the smoking remains of the village in the early light of day. It had burned cleanly to the ground. The few surviving villagers wept, kneeling on the charred earth. They had lost everything, but still, they didn’t move to help each other. 

Set’s house was the only place left unscathed, a strange and perplexing sight among the charnel. Knowing these people, I was sure it was only a matter of time before they accused him of conspiring with the gargoyles. That would fit their typical pattern of behavior. Regardless of what the others said or did, it would be up to Set to decide what he would do next. 

I spoke briefly to Set before I headed out to the ruins that were once my home. It was time to finish what I’d come to do. I walked to the southernmost point of the village, followed by the scent of smoke and ash. 

The land that had once held my house lay at the outskirts of the village, past the scope of the gargoyles’ attack. Wild grass and weeds overran the ground that house had sat on. I tried to push through, but it was a mess, a thicket of tangled greenery. I unsheathed Greed and cut down the long grass in my way. After some time, I finally made it to two small gravestones nestled together side by side. 

“Father,” I said. “Mother. I’m home.” 

Moss covered the gravestones. They hadn’t seen the sun in a long time. I returned my sword to its sheath and knelt to tidy them. I started with my mother’s gravestone, using my bare hands to clean off the moss. According to my father’s stories, she’d been a bit of a nosy gossip-hound, but I would never know what she had really been like. 

“Done!” I said. “All cleaned up. Now it’s time for you, Dad.” 

My father had passed away of an illness when I was eleven. I’d always looked up to him, the man who fought off wandering monsters with his Spear Technique, who always did his best to help the village. He hadn’t done it for his own sake, either, but to keep me safe despite my worthless skill. 

He had often smiled, through good times and bad. This struck me as strange, even as a kid, and I remembered when I’d asked him why he bothered. He had replied, “If you can smile through the tough times, whatever they may be, then happiness will eventually smile back upon you.” Hearing those words, I decided I’d do my best and smile too. 

The day he died had been the day I stopped smiling. Five years later, standing at his grave, I finally knew why he’d made the effort. In his smile, he’d held all of his love, and all of his hope for my future happiness. 

Now, I could return happiness’s smile to my father, here in his place of rest. 

“Father, I’m fine. I can walk my own path now, and I can do it myself.” 

I finished cleaning my father’s grave, then returned to my feet. 

When would I be able to visit again? This might well be the last time. If I survived whatever awaited me in Galia, I’d return and tell my parents everything—about my Gluttony, about Lady Roxy, about Greed. Until then, the tale was unfinished, so I decided it was best to leave it untold. I needed to continue my journey. 

On my way back, I found Set standing under the shade of a large tree, waiting for me. 

“Everything go all right?” he asked. 

“Yeah. I just wanted to tend their gravestones and pay my respects.” 

“I see…” Set looked like he wanted to say something. We stood there in an awkward silence, then he suddenly dropped into a deep bow. “Please, let me apologize—for yesterday. And for the past. For everything. I’m so sorry.” 

“I know where you’re coming from Set,” I said. “But…” 

My eyes narrowed. I took Greed in hand and transformed the black sword into the black bow. I pulled the bowstring taut, crafted a magic arrow, and nocked it against the string. Set went pale at the sight, frozen in place. Stay right there , I thought. 

“Fate, no…you can’t…” Set shook in abject terror. 

It didn’t matter. I loosed the arrow. 

Set closed his eyes and clenched his teeth as the arrow skimmed his cheek and disappeared into the branches of the tree behind him. Moments later, we heard the gurgle of a pained beast, and a gargoyle noa dropped out of the leaves. 

“What the…?! A monster?!” Set’s legs gave out, and he fell right on his ass. 

The gargoyle plummeted to the earth. It had been aiming to attack Set from the tree, but fortunately, I’d noticed it in time, just when he began speaking. If I’d shot the arrow a few moments later, Set would’ve been a dead man. 

“Seems there’re a couple stragglers,” I said. 

As the droning metallic voice in my head listed my updated stats, I reached out a hand to help Set to his feet; he was still in shock, and he didn’t respond to my voice. 

“Hey! Set!” I said. “You in there?” I gave him a refreshing little slap on the cheek. 

As his eyes focused, he collapsed once more to the ground. “What a shock! I never imagined one of them would be up there. I really thought you were going to…” 

Set didn’t finish his sentence. Perhaps he couldn’t. But it was clear what he’d thought: that I was going to kill him. I supposed anyone in his position might think the same thing. I had more than enough reason to do so, and Set knew he deserved it. A tense silence stretched between us. 

It was, again, Set who broke the silence first. He got back to his feet and looked me in the eye. “Fate, I want you to hit me. I know it won’t make up for everything that happened, but I won’t be able to move on unless you do.” 

Hit him? Really? I wasn’t sure about this. 

Greed spoke up through my Telepathy, chuckling. “Go on, do it. Give him everything you’ve got. Put all your stats behind it.” 

Yeah… Something about Set’s request just resonated with me. I needed to answer this tension between us—offer a punctuation mark to end all of it. I decided to give Set exactly what he wanted. 

“Okay,” I said. “But you might want to brace yourself.” 

“Do it,” Set insisted. 

I sent a right cross flying at Set’s face. I tried not to put everything I had into it, but the shock of my punch still sent Set flying into the tree behind him. I was a little worried I’d gone too far, but Set laughed as he rolled along the ground. Had my blow knocked him senseless?! 

When I ran up to Set, I realized from his expression that he wasn’t punch-drunk at all. He grinned up at me with the same smile I remembered on my father—a smile that carried hope for the future. 

Smile through it all, and keep moving forward. I read that message in Set’s broad grin. 

*** 

“You sure this is what you want?” 

“Yeah,” said Set. “We can’t live in that village anymore. This is where we want to be.” 

I’d arrived once more in Tetra, this time with Set and his daughter in tow. Set had decided to leave the village once and for all. With the buildings and population decimated, there was no way that barren place could persist as a functioning community. On top of that, the surviving villagers hadn’t even begun to rebuild before they started showering Set with abuse. Their flimsy excuse for their hostility was that Set’s house had been the only home left standing. That had been the last straw. Set’s father was dead, and with the village destroyed, there was no need for anyone to inherit the position. 

A grim conclusion. Yet, from where I stood, Set wore the relieved look of a man finally freed. 

“What will you do now?” I asked. 

“I’ll look for work somewhere here in Tetra. Oh, that reminds me. This is yours.” Set passed me my reward for the monster hunt. Ten measly silver coins, the total collected wealth of our hometown. 

I shook my head. “You keep it. I don’t need it.” 

“Fate, I can’t let you do that.” 

“Then keep it for your daughter. I’m not hurting for money.” 

“Thank you, Fate… To be honest, you’re doing us another lifesaving favor.” 

The two of them were starting new lives in Tetra, and there was much they needed to do. I knew how hard it was to start from nothing. I had borne that struggle myself in Seifort. Typical living costs didn’t come close to the expense of hiring adventurers, but Set and his daughter needed every coin they had to get back on their feet. 

We talked a little while longer, but morning turned to afternoon, and the time came for us to part ways. I needed to find a cart to carry me farther south. If I couldn’t find one before evening, I’d be stuck in Tetra another day, and Lady Roxy’s army would outpace me. I couldn’t let that happen. 

“Farewell, Set.” 

“Until next time,” Set said, and he and his daughter waved goodbye. 

Next time, eh? Maybe so. But, if we wanted a next time, we would each have to make it ourselves. I waved farewell to the two of them, and, with a sliver of sadness in my heart, put Tetra behind me.