Berserk of Gluttony (LN) - Volume 4 - Chapter 31

Chapter 31:

To the Top

GREED POINTED the black sword in his hand straight at me. It was an odd sight, the human version of Greed holding the weapon version of Greed. I admit that I gawped.

“Don’t be so stunned,” said Greed, exasperated. “This world is a mental construct maintained by Luna. The rules of normality don’t apply. My human form is the clearest example of that. Now hurry up and ready your sword!”

“My sword? But where is it?”

Greed shook his head at the confusion plastered across my face. “Just use your mind.”

My mind? I pictured the black sword and was startled to find it suddenly in my hand. Now this realm had two black swords. As Greed and I stood facing each other, our weapons at the ready, that just made everything feel all the more surreal and otherworldly.

“I’m just going to hang out here to watch from the side,” said Luna. “It’s pretty nice to have front row seats to the battle between Gluttony and Greed.”

“Better make some room, unless you want to be part of it!”

“Fine, fine,” said Luna. “I’ve got my eye on you, Greed. I know you’re going to try to rope me into this.”

Greed grunted and gestured Luna away as if she were a nuisance. Luna giggled at his sheer imperiousness, but she took a vantage point far away from where we stood.

“This far is fine, isn’t it?” called Luna. “No complaints, I assume? No? Excellent. Now please go ahead whenever you’re ready.”

“How about you go even farther so I can’t hear your blabbering?” muttered Greed.

Greed and Luna were like oil and water. Greed was always pushing me around and making fun of me, but in this place, he was theoretically at Luna’s mercy. It was such a rare sight that I couldn’t help but laugh.

“What’s so funny?”

Greed’s glare pierced my very soul. It terrified me a bit, but at the same time…I found it refreshing. As a sword, Greed could only emote through his voice. I was interested to see what he really looked like when he got angry.

“What are you staring at?!” Greed demanded.

“Well, let’s be honest,” I said, “it’s still new seeing you all human-like, complete with facial expressions.”

“I’m about to put you through the hardest training you’ve ever known, and that’s what you care about? Let me tell you, Fate, I won’t be nearly as gentle with you as Aaron was.”

“What do you mean?!”

“You’ll see. Get ready.” Greed readied his black sword, and for a brief instant, his gaze once again pierced through me. In the next instant, he was gone.

Wait—where’d he go? I can’t follow him with my eyes. Before another thought even crossed my mind, my left arm was cut clean off my body. I screamed.

“What’s all the crying about?” asked Greed. “Your left arm is good as new. See?”

I looked to my left to find that my left arm was, indeed, back to normal. The pain I’d felt had also nigh-instantaneously vanished.

Greed went on: “It’s like I said, this world is a construct of your mind. You don’t physically exist here, so cuts won’t hurt as long as your mind stays strong.”

“You could have told me that before you chopped off my arm! This is great.”

“Don’t get too comfortable. Those cuts and injuries can build up until they’re too much for the mind to take.” Greed pointed to the barrier at his feet. “If your mind can’t handle the strain, you end up down there, consumed by your Gluttony.”

“Seriously?”

“I go to all the trouble of getting here, and now you think I’d lie to you?”

I could tell by his tone that Greed wasn’t joking. In the distance, Luna was nodding. This was no laughing matter. Greed didn’t intend to let me off lightly. Even if I could withstand Greed’s attacks, and even if I wouldn’t actually die in this world, I might still lose my mind to Gluttony.

So why did Greed have to choose now, of all times? Why did he have to do this while I slept in Roxy’s manor?

“You think I didn’t think about it?” asked Greed, reading my mind. “I chose now because you can’t afford to lose again. If you lose here, Gluttony consumes you—and you know what happens next.”

“Greed, you…”

“If you don’t like it, then give up. Well, what’ll it be, Fate?” Greed’s eyes were as sinister as his tone. He was the very incarnation of a villain.

Luna let him know it from the sidelines. “Boo! Boo! You’re the worst, Greed!”

“If you’re just watching, then shut up!” Greed spun his sword threateningly. He looked about to go after Luna, so I dropped into a battle-ready stance.

“I’m your opponent, Greed.”

“That’s it, that’s the idea—that’s exactly how you need to be. But be warned: I’m giving you all I’ve got.”

“Fine.”

This time I launched the first strike. From a high guard, I brought my blade down on Greed. However, Greed wove around my strike with one eye closed. I wasn’t done yet. My strike had herded Greed where I wanted him, and I launched my second attack from a middle guard—not a feint this time.

But even this missed its intended target. Greed defended himself with his own sword, and he did it single-handedly to boot.

“Your blade work is still too forgiving,” he said. “Don’t get too big for your boots just because you’ve reached the Domain of E.”

“What?!”

“How many times do I have to tell you? The Domain of E is beyond humanity, and you’ve only just dipped your toes into it. You still have a long road ahead, wouldn’t you say?”

“Greed…”

Sparks shot from our blades as they pushed against each other.

“You made your choice.” Greed pushed the blades toward my face, flexing his true strength. “The bearer before you…chose a different path. I don’t know what direction you’ll choose, Fate, but I can say one thing for sure.”

I was being overpowered. I pushed back with all my might, but Greed shoved me back to where I’d stood when our fight first began. A slight grin crossed his face as he shouted. “You must become stronger, Fate!”

“You just watch me,” I said through gritted teeth.

“That’s it. Now we’re talking.”

Even now, the memory of being unable to stop Myne from leaving still haunted me. I had been utterly powerless before Shin—the source of the nightwalkers. It had been excruciating to feel so feeble before him, to be left with my arms and legs petrified by his power while he left with Myne in tow.

I still owed Myne a great debt. On the way to Galia, she had helped fill my heart with the confidence it lacked. Back then, I’d had nearly no control over my Gluttony, and I’d struggled with it, but having someone by my side who understood those struggles had helped me cope. She didn’t talk much, but I had fond memories of her company in itself. Her kindness was in her companionship.

And it was from Myne that I had asked the greatest favor…to kill me, if I lost myself to the urges of my Gluttony. I had asked entirely too much of her, and I had spent much of our time afterward apologizing for it. In response, Myne had said only: “I’m glad you’re better.” She didn’t blame me for anything or expect anything from me. All I got were four simple words and the tiniest hint of happiness on her otherwise stoic face—and it was enough.

Now, I couldn’t forget the words she’d spoken before she left to follow Shin…words that felt so out of character for the Myne I knew: I’m sorry.

She’d never apologized to me before, and it hurt that they had also been her parting words. It pained me even further that she’d spoken them because I’d been powerless to help her.

Greed understood. That was why he’d pulled all this together—come all this way and asked Luna to create this place, all in order to inspire and encourage me. If he was willing to go this far for me, then I had to ensure that I wouldn’t let him down.

I pushed my sword back into Greed’s and shouted. “I will get stronger!”

Greed chuckled. “Words are nothing. Show me.”

“Bring it on, Greed!”

This world was a mental construct. If I relied on my eyes, I wouldn’t be able to follow Greed’s movements. I needed to unleash the power of all my senses and focus. Greed moved faster than the eye could see, but I couldn’t let myself get hung up on that. I had to draw upon my experience. Use memories to my advantage.

Greed’s sword swung in from a blind angle, but I blocked it with my sword.

“What’s the matter?” I said. “Your new body slowing you down?”

“Big words, little man. How about this?” Greed leaped backward, and as he did, he transformed his black sword into a black bow.

“You can do that too?!”

“Of course I can. Whatever you can do, so can I. But I’m just getting started.”

“You can’t be serious…”

“Said I was, didn’t I? Deadly serious. Better put your guard up, Fate.”

The black bow in Greed’s hand began to transform and grow. I knew its ominous aura all too well—it could mean only one thing. The Bloody Ptarmigan was coming my way. Greed was going to vaporize me. A grin spread over his face as I scrambled. He was more than ready to fire.

“You’re inhuman, you fiend!” I cried.

“Well, you got one thing right. I’m not a human—I’m a weapon.”

“That’s not what I mean!”

“Get ready, Fate!”

“It’s too big! I can’t fight that! It’s impossible!”

“Nothing is impossible!”

As merciless as he’d warned, Greed proved he wasn’t joking. He released the bowstring and fired straight at me.

I barely managed to transform my own sword into the black shield to defend against the attack. The force was enormous, and it sent me tumbling away. Any slower and the attack would have left me disintegrated. Having always been on the firing side, I experienced the firepower in a brand-new and awful way.

That son of a—who whips out a weapon of mass destruction during a sparring match?!

He wasn’t the only one with a trick up his sleeve. I poured power into my own weapon, transforming it into the black bow, and as I did, I realized something interesting… I didn’t feel it pulling at my stats.

Of course! This world isn’t real! And if the world wasn’t real, then I could fire Bloody Ptarmigan as much as I liked. “It’s my turn, Greed!”

“Fate, it might not be wise to be so reckless—”

“That’s rich coming from you!”

I fired multiple bursts of the Bloody Ptarmigan. I could never do something like that in the real world because every shot ate up my stats, but here, it felt incredible. The attacks rained down on Greed, who ran and dodged, hiding behind his own black shield. He was quite the acrobat. Eyes on the target…read his movement…now!

Then I heard a scream.

Uh-oh…

My last shot had knocked Luna over. Fortunately, it hadn’t been the direct attack itself but rather the force of the blast. However, when she got back to her feet, her red eyes were alight with rage. “I thought I told you to leave me out of this! Or do you really want to fight me that badly?” Her mouth split with a grin. “If it’s me you want, then it’s me you’ll get!”

“Huh?!”

Greed and I balked with simultaneous surprise, uncertainty on our faces.

Luna snapped her fingers. From the white ground upon which we stood, a monster began to form—a beast connected by metal piping, with four wings sprouting from its back and six legs that sent shock waves through the ground. Above the monster’s head floated a halo, like that of an angel.

My jaw dropped, as did Greed’s as we both exclaimed in disbelief: “Haniel?!”

We stood there paralyzed, shaking in fear at the unimaginable arrival of the chimera.

Luna had to be sincerely ticked if she was summoning this beast to her side. She looked down upon us where she stood on its head. “I am the creator of this world—meaning that in this place, I am your god. Here, my Haniel is invincible. But there’s no need to worry—all you have to do is survive until morning. So let’s begin!”

Greed glanced at me as the imposing figure of Haniel stomped ever closer. “Fate, have at it.” He inclined his head at the chimera. “It’ll be excellent practice. I’ll watch over you from there.”

“But I’ll never make it until morning without your help!”

“All right, all right, but quit poking me with the tip of your sword. It hurts!”

So we readied our blades, nodded at each other, and launched ourselves at the great chimera. In my heart, as we fought, I sent my thanks to both Greed and Luna. I wouldn’t let them down. I would grow stronger.