Berserk of Gluttony (LN) - Volume 3 - Chapter 25

Chapter 25:

Black Bullets of Calamity 

EVEN AFTER I CAUGHT UP to the omega slime, there was the question of how to attack it. There was a deep ravine in the earth running north, which I had passed on the way from the outer walls of Babylon to get to the slime in the first place. The quickest way to reach Lady Roxy’s army was across that ravine. As I followed its trajectory, I guessed it intended to do just that. 

Thus, it would reveal itself as it jumped. That would be my best chance to attack. 

Unless… 

“What’s wrong?” Greed asked. 

“It’s nothing.” I had to be prepared, even if my gut was right. 

Greed saw right through me, and the black sword laughed. “Fate, your pulse quickened.” 

“Running through the desert like this?” I said. “That’d happen to anyone.” 

“That better be all it is.” 

Greed was always like this. At least he had provided a momentary diversion from my anxieties. 

I reached the ravine and kept my eyes on the omega slime as I picked up my pace and dove over the cliff edge. As I fell, I took Greed from his sheath and transformed him into the black bow. 

“Greed!” I shouted. “Twenty percent!” 

The black bow devoured my stats. It once again morphed in size as it strangled the power from my body. I wasn’t done, though. I wanted insurance. I added the modified tech-art Spiral Charge Shot to the nocked arrow for good measure. It was the first time I had ever tried adding a skill to Greed’s secret technique, but I trusted that he could control it. If the sword wanted to talk a big game, then I’d have him back up his words with big plays in battle. 

“Fate?!” the black sword shouted. “What the hell?!” 

My sudden supplement took him by surprise. I brushed off his yelp. With this addition, it didn’t matter whether the omega slime divided itself to make a shield. Let it try. The piercing power of this arrow would skewer both halves. 

The omega slime’s magical energy grew as it neared the cliff face, its shape just breaking through the rock wall. I waited for it to reveal itself. I had to make the timing count. 

Now! 

The omega slime burst through the melting rock wall like a blue whale breaching. I took aim directly at the crowned beast’s core and poured the entirety of my magical energy into the black bow. Then I fired. 

The whiplash was stronger than ever before, and because my feet had nowhere to stand, it sent me flying downward. But my aim was on point. As long as the arrow kept on course, it would hit. And then… 

“Damn it. Talk about bad timing!” I spat. 

Something fired from above, and it traced a black line between the omega slime and I as we parted. Three small shapes streaked through the air, equally fast. Even in my half-starved state, with my physical abilities magnified, I couldn’t follow their movement. All I saw were black streaks whipping by. 

Then a different shape traced a line of red, blending with the arrow I’d fired at the omega slime. The red shape and my arrow landed simultaneously. Though usually my attack would have opened a gaping hole in both the earth and the omega slime, at this moment, a completely different sight greeted my eyes. 

The core of the omega slime had eaten my attack, but the slime was still alive, complete with a gaping hole through its center. 

Are you for real…? 

Gluttony Skill activated. Stats increased: Vitality +13,360,000, Strength +8,760,000, Magic +11,983,000, Spirit +11,248,000, Agility +5,347,000. Skills added: Corrosion (Spell). 

I heard the metallic voice ring through my head, letting me know I’d eaten the soul of the omega slime. So why was the slime’s body still moving in front of me? Having lost its main form, it writhed haphazardly, spraying acid across the ravine. 

I had just consumed more than ten million stats. It had been a long time since I made a meal of such a high-quality soul, and Gluttony went wild with bliss, numbing my brain. It thrust me back into my sated, normal state, but the ride wasn’t over. 

Not that I was in any position to relax in the first place. 

“Fate! It’s dangerous here! Move!” 

“I-I’m on it.” 

Still disoriented, I jumped from wall to wall, climbing the ravine to the surface. 

“Finally, our foe makes their grand entrance,” Greed mused . “From the feel of it, it’s another Weapon of Mortal Sin like me.” 

“Just like Eris said. Are they dangerous?” 

“Unlike anything you’ve ever faced.” 

I was almost back to the surface. Whoever was up there with their Weapon of Mortal Sin still hadn’t attacked me, even though they’d had the perfect opportunity. And not just now. They had another perfect opportunity before, while I was attacking the omega slime. What did they want? 

“Be ready when you get to the surface,” Greed warned. 

“Yeah…” 

I leaped from the ravine back to the wide expanse of wasteland. Immediately, I spotted the man in black standing nearby. He wore a hood, and a skull mask eerily similar to my own covered his face. I had the strange sensation of being unable to recognize the man wearing it. 

“His mask does the same thing mine does. That dirty copycat!” 

The man held a black sword. He stood, unmoving, as he watched me. His sword was a very different shape from Greed. Its blade included a cylinder-like attachment. 

“The weapon he wields,” said Greed, sensing my curiosity, “is Envy. A special weapon type called a gunblade. That cylindrical barrel fires magic bullets, and those bullets have tracing capabilities.” 

“But that means…” 

“Yep. That particular Weapon of Mortal Sin is an all-ranger, capable of both long and short-range combat.” 

Are you serious? I guess that explains why he’s so calm. 

I tried to use Identify to uncover exactly who I was facing, but it didn’t work. I could sense him smiling under his skull mask. He knew how to nullify the skill; whenever I tried to use it, he released a short burst of magical energy, clouding my vision. 

We stood opposite each other, glaring with bated breath as we each waited for the other to attack. The man in black moved first. He slid his gunblade into its sheath, and with an exaggerated sweep of his arm and slightly quirked smile, he placed his hand on his chest and bowed. 

The earth rumbled beneath my feet. 

No way! Is this—? 

It was just what I thought—and more. Three omega slimes burst from the ground and re-formed before me, their cores intact. Not only that, each was engraved with a seal, one I’d seen before. The monsters that so persistently attacked Lady Roxy’s army in Galia had been marked with the same brand. 

Greed grunted in disapproval, having just realized something he didn’t like. 

“That magic bullet he fired into the slime alongside your attack—it brought out the monster’s latent potential. Now it’s capable of dividing itself into parts with unique cores and exactly the same core stats. You killed one, but before you managed that, it had already cloned itself.” 

“That’s not good, is it?” 

“Well, as long as the effects of that magical bullet last, the slime can multiply an unlimited number of times. But, Fate, this is a bad matchup for you. It might even be the worst.” 

On that point, I had to disagree. I was still hungry. 

I focused my energy and unleashed Gluttony’s power once more. Then I readied the black bow and took aim at the man in black as he stood there, silently watching me like I was some kind of amusement. 

I fired my greeting straight at him.