Berserk of Gluttony (LN) - Volume 3 - Chapter 14

Chapter 14:

The Kingdom’s Army 

I AWOKE TO LIGHT streaming into the tent from outside, and I turned to see Miria’s sleeping face trapped between Mugan’s legs. From the look of it, she’d tried to pull something after I fell asleep, and Mugan had held her back. There was something silly and a little endearing about Miria in that moment, lost in slumber with a line of drool sliding down the side of her chin. 

I rose from my bed and took the black sword Greed in hand. Mugan’s eyes opened as I did. 

“Sorry about last night,” he said. “If we had a spare tent, we’d have put it up for you, but we only had time to bring the essentials for this mission.” 

“It still beats sleeping on the rocks,” I said. Then, glancing over at the still-sleeping Miria, I added, “But more importantly, how did you sleep?” 

“This? Oh, this happens all the time. She’s a handful, all right, but she’s also a trustworthy ally in battle. I hope to see her one day become Roxy’s second in command, but until then, I’ve got to keep a close eye on her.” 

“You’re practically family.” 

“Sometimes the troops say the same thing,” Mugan replied with a laugh. “Don’t let Miria hear you, though.” 

We left Miria to sleep and exited the tent. Outside, the troops had already started breakfast preparations. But nobody was making any food. The absence of water or firewood in Galia meant you couldn’t really cook. Food was thus a simple affair. The troops passed out rations: dense brown bread, jerky, and dried fruit on wooden plates, as well as a cup of water. I’d brought the same sort of food. 

“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to the tasteless meals out here,” said Mugan. “All the same, do you want some?” 

“I’ll pass. Provisions are priceless in Galia, and I’m here uninvited. I’ll eat from my own stock.” 

“I see… To be honest, I’m a bit relieved. I have a feeling your share would have come straight off Lady Roxy’s plate. That’s just who she is, for better or for worse.” 

The comment left an impression on me. I could see Mugan’s pride in his commanding officer. Lady Roxy soon joined Mugan, myself, and the troops as we ate. Jokes and banter filled the air. 

“Is Miria still sleeping?” Lady Roxy asked. 

Mugan paused in his munching to answer. “She kept trying to escape and sneak into your tent, Lady Roxy. Eventually, she wore herself out.” 

“Oh, that girl…” Lady Roxy sighed. “I guess it can’t be helped. I suppose I’ll go wake her, then.” 

Lady Roxy put her unfinished breakfast down for a moment and walked over to Miria’s tent. A short while later, we heard Miria’s overjoyed voice, and when Lady Roxy returned, Miria was practically glued to her side. 

“There is nothing better in this world than being woken by Lady Roxy! I can now officially, and happily, die without regrets!” 

“Let’s avoid any comments about untimely deaths out here, Miria,” Mugan said. 

I sympathized with Mugan’s sentiment. We really had no idea what waited for us out there in the great canyon. 

“Good morning, Mugan,” said Miria, pumping her fist to the sky, “and good morning, troops! Let’s make today a great one!” 

“Did you even hear me, Miria?” said Mugan, exasperated. The slump of his shoulders seemed to indicate that he knew he was in for another long, busy day. 

Lady Roxy and I glanced at each other and chuckled. 

Northern arrived soon after and sat close by my side. His right arm was wrapped in bandages due to the injuries he’d suffered last night. The salamander’s attack had sent him flying. Even with his arm in a sling, cocky Northern still grinned as though the whole world was his delicious oyster. His smug attitude was in clear contrast to Lady Roxy’s camaraderie with her troops. 

“Ah, so we meet again, Corpse,” Northern said. “Thanks for your help yesterday.” 

“You’re supposed to be a holy knight,” I said. “Your tactics were beyond careless.” 

“When you put it that way, yes, I’ve really got no excuses. It was me versus two crowned beasts, and I acted in haste. As you can see, I’ll be fairly useless in battle with this injury, so it’s nice you’re here to take my place. At least every cloud has a silver lining, right?” 

“Your silver lining lasts until we get to the great canyon, so your arm better heal up by then.” 

“I’ll be fine,” said Northern, his smile widening. “By the way, have you put any further thought into becoming one of my men?” 

It was impressively arrogant for Northern to ask as much after a single salamander had blasted him through the air. This was the famous overconfidence of Seifort’s holy knights. My answer remained unchanged. 

“I have no intention of working under you,” I said. “No matter what happens.” 

“Such a pity. And I had such high hopes for you…” 

Northern had barely touched his food, but he stood up and left. His clique, who I’d barely noticed, followed him close behind. Despite myself, I was increasingly curious about this holy knight. I turned to Lady Roxy, now quietly eating her breakfast. 

“Lady Roxy, may I ask you something?” 

“What is it?” 

“What sort of person is Northern?” 

“Northern Alistair…hm. He’s a member of a family of holy knights who have protected Babylon from monsters for a long, long time. He knows Galia like the back of his hand, and he’s taught me a lot. He was the first to realize the gathering expedition had been delayed, and we came to investigate on his recommendation.” 

It seemed Lady Roxy put a lot of trust in Northern. This was her first time in Galia, after all. 

“He’s not the type to talk about himself too often,” she went on, “which makes it easy for people to get the wrong idea about him. He’s similar to you, in that respect.” 

“Huh?! Me and Northern are similar?” 

“Well, you’re both full of secrets.” 

I couldn’t argue there. I looked over at Northern and his men as they prepared. Northern gave the orders while his men quickly folded down tents and stowed them in rucksacks. 

The two of us are similar…? 

Despite Lady Roxy’s praise, something about Northern’s aloof mysteriousness chafed at me. 

After breakfast, Lady Roxy and her squadron proceeded farther south. I went with the group. Miria somehow had the energy to keep up her antics for the entire journey. However, because the only thing around us was the endless rugged landscape of Galia, I was a little glad for the distraction. 

“I’ll take that skull mask, thank you very much!” Miria cried, grunting as she reached out to yank it off my face. Really, she made the otherwise-dull march feel a bit like sparring. 

“I don’t think so,” I said, dodging away. “You’ll have to do better than that if you really want it!” 

She was quite the spirited girl. Even as we rushed toward our destination, she bounded left, right, up, and around as she looked for any angle from which to take my mask. Still, she never got close, and I evaded her attempts with ease. Her movements were simple, and I followed her feet to know where she was going. 

“Damn it! How are you evading me so easily?!” she cried, winded. 

“That’s a trade secret. If I told you, I’d only make life harder for myself.” 

“What?! But I’m trying so hard! How dare you!” 

Miria’s rage lent her speed, and I feared she’d be an exhausted mess by the time we made it to the great canyon. Luckily, before that could happen, Lady Roxy interceded. 

“Miria, that’s enough. If you don’t show some self-control, I’ll show you what I’m like when I’m angry. And, Mr. Corpse, please don’t encourage her!” 

Miria and I were both to blame. Our voices rang out in unison: “Sorry!” 

Mugan and the other soldiers laughed, their cheer echoing across the jagged lands. It struck me that, just like that, I’d become a member of Lady Roxy’s crew. I felt the same warm camaraderie that I’d felt as a servant for the Hart family. 

Those feelings were extinguished by Northern, who arrived with a report a few hours into the march, just after we took out an orc squadron. 

“That canyon over there,” he said, gesturing into the distance. “That’s our destination.” 

At the rocky end of the ruined lands, just over the horizon, a massive crevice gaped. It looked nothing like a natural formation—it was more like some immense strike of guided power had gouged into the earth. I couldn’t imagine what could possibly have resulted in such wide-scale destruction. Not until I remembered Greed’s Second Level secret technique—the Bloody Ptarmigan, the apocalyptic black bow. Perhaps a maxed-out version of that attack, fed with more stats… 

“Hey, Greed,” I muttered. “You didn’t make that canyon, did you? Sometime in the past, with some kind of horrendously powerful attack?” 

“I couldn’t tell you,” the sword said. “I can’t remember everything from that far back.” 

“I had a feeling you’d say something like that.” 

Whether or not Greed remembered everything he’d ever done, he hadn’t said that the canyon wasn’t his doing either. I wondered about the bearer of Gluttony who had come before me, and what they had accomplished together with the black sword. Perhaps this canyon offered the tiniest glimpse into that history. That put a thrill in my step. If this place contained secrets of the past, I wanted to see it as soon as I could. As I split off from Lady Roxy’s squadron, she called out to me. 

“Mr. Corpse!” 

“We’re almost there,” I replied. “This is as far as we go together.” 

“I suppose it is. But when you finish gathering the material you’re after, let’s regroup.” 

Her eyes did not shift in their scrutiny of me. We came this far together, so we’ll return to Babylon together, her shining gaze seemed to say. 

“Very well.” I resigned myself to our new plans. “When I’ve found what I’m looking for, we’ll regroup.” 

“Very good. Be careful out there, please.” 

As Lady Roxy watched me part ways with her squadron, Miria suddenly popped out from behind her. 

“Corpse! You better prepare yourself! When we head home, I’m taking that mask from you!” 

Captain Mugan stepped out from the troops and scooped up Miria to carry her off. “That’s enough out of you, Miria!” 

I hoped that the next time we met, that girl might be a little less excitable. 

I headed toward the east side of the great canyon, following the sheer cliffs. Lady Roxy and her troops went in the opposite direction, toward the west, where the missing expedition had planned to build their base of operations. I’d join Lady Roxy there once I finished my own business. 

The question now was where to look for the duskstone. According to Jade, the colorless, transparent crystals let off faint purple light. That gave me a mental image of an ominous, cursed aura of crackling indigo, but I had no way to know what the crystals actually looked like until I saw them myself. 

As I got closer to the great canyon, the sheer size of it overwhelmed me. This jagged gash shorn into the earth could easily have fit a hundred Babylons. It might take quite some time to find the duskstone I needed. I couldn’t imagine it would be any easier for Lady Roxy to find her missing troops. In that case, if I stumbled across them before she did, I’d have to take a quick detour to inform her. 

Aside from its scale, what really surprised me about the canyon was the greenery. Great trees lush with green leaves reached up from the foot of sheer cliff faces, their leaves rustling in the occasional gust of wind. Fields of grass made the canyon look like a paradise somehow distinct from the land of death we knew as Galia. 

My first step into the gorge only made that thought more real. The bloody, putrid reek of Galia dissipated. Instead, my lungs filled with clean air. 

“It’s like this is the only pure place in Galia,” I said. 

“Yeah,” answered Greed, “It’s in Galia, but it’s different from Galia.” 

“Is it possible this greenery is all a result of the battle that created the canyon?” 

“Perhaps.” 

“I just knew you’d be vague about it!” 

Was it possible the last bearer of Gluttony had wielded such power they had cleansed a part of the land or something? If so, I was nowhere near matching the strength they’d possessed. I walked through the grassy fields for a time, until I reached a sheltered meadow spotted with hundreds of unusual boulders. Trees and grass grew around and through them, as if the boulders served as sustenance. Boulders that looked like… 

I stopped. 

“These…these boulders are monsters .” 

“Monsters turned to stone, it would seem,” said Greed. “It seems to me they’ve been here for many long years, trapped as they were, never returning to the earth.” 

“It’s a graveyard.”