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Berserk of Gluttony (LN) - Volume 5 - Chapter 13




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Chapter 13:

The Results of Inhuman Decay

THE GOBLIN SHAMAN was almost dead on its feet, but it squeezed what energy it still had into the staff raised above its head and intoned:

“Grant me…power…the Door…to Distant Lands…”

We had to stop it right away. We moved in to attack, but when the goblin shaman finished speaking, the glass canisters filling the room began to crack.

“What’s happening?”

The people in the canisters slumped to the floor as red liquid flooded the floor. They writhed in agony.

“But…but the people in those canisters are dead…” I said in disbelief.

It was an impossible sight; there was no doubt they were dead. At first, I thought they were nightwalkers, but their pupils didn’t turn blood-red, nor did fangs sprout from their mouths. These corpses simply writhed in pain.

The voices from the bodies were beastly, the ominous echo of monsters pulsing within them. In the next instant, they began to transform. Aaron rushed over and pulled me away from a corpse.

“Fate, get to safety! I can sense it. These bodies are no longer human!”

“But how—?”

The corpses on the floor were changing, transforming in a way I had seen before. It was Soul Decay. I still remembered the creatures that Hado and Rafale had become when they had given up what was left of their humanity. Greed said it was what happened when a person lost their soul in the Domain of E. They lost all sense of reason, transforming into creatures that knew only violence. Though their attacks were simple, lacking any thought, their stats remained in the Domain of E.

While I was still in Roxy’s body, I could do nothing to harm them. All I could do was rely on Aaron, but it was twenty-four against one. The odds were stacked against him.

“Aaron, how strong are they? What are their stats?”

Aaron had the Identify skill, and if we wanted to use it, the best time was before the monsters recognized us as a threat. I needed to know how deep into the Domain of E they were.

“These monsters are called ogres. Their stats are at the lower limits of the Domain of E. Not very high. But that goblin shaman is not in the Domain of E. I’ll draw the attention of the ogres, so it’s up to you to put a stop to the shaman!” 

“Got it!”

The ogres were about twice Aaron’s height. Their bodies were rough-hewn and bursting with muscles. If they caught me in the grips of their large hands, they would have no trouble crushing my bones to dust. 

This whole situation is crazy… I thought. I can’t make sense of it. 

I knew only one thing: I had an enemy to defeat. I broke into a sprint, hoping to get around the ogres before they were aware of their surroundings, but I didn’t get far. 

The goblin shaman shouted, and the ogres began moving. They marched in formation as if they were a squadron of soldiers. The shaman was using some kind of spell to control them. One of the ogres rushed toward me, its giant hand reaching out to crush me.

“Fate!”

Aaron ducked in and grabbed me, pulling me clear of the attack as the ogre roared. But Aaron wasn’t done yet. He stepped in and raised his sword over his head and brought it straight down, cleaving the ogre in half. The two halves fell cleanly apart.

“They’re strong, but their attacks have no technique. They’re no better than orcs. At least an orc can think for itself.”

Aaron pointed to the movement of the other ogres, which was uniform, robotic, and easy to follow. It looked as if the goblin shaman struggled to control them.

“The goblin is pushing past its limits,” Aaron said. “I will cut a path, Fate.”

Even if they were in the Domain of E, the ogres weren’t high in that hierarchy. They were no match for Aaron, whose strength had only grown since the battle with Rafale. The goblin shaman’s face suddenly lost confidence as it realized it had underestimated Aaron’s might. The monster’s face contorted into a grimace of frustration.

“Why do you…interfere…?” it snarled. “The research…bears fruit…”

Aaron cut down a third ogre, then suddenly stopped. He looked down at his sword with a pained frown. Even though he had the advantage, he was now being pushed backward. Something was happening to his holy sword.

“My blade,” he said, “it’s starting to disintegrate!”

It was a sword forged from orichalcum—a rare ore mined in Galia. I’d heard that such blades were strong enough to withstand the acid of slime monsters. On top of that, Aaron had imbued his sword with the power of the Grand Cross, making it even stronger than usual. Despite all this, his blade was eroding.

There had to be something in ogre blood that caused this. I wondered if it had something to do with what the goblin had said. But there was no time to think about it now. I tried to offer Roxy’s holy sword to Aaron, but he shook his head.

“I’m very particular when it comes to what I fight with,” he said. “Just like you. It might be damaged, but I can still use it. By the way, Fate, do you think I have enough room in here?”

“Enough room for wha—Aaron, you can’t be serious!”

“I’m dead serious. I wanted to save this room so we could investigate it later, but we won’t be able to investigate anything if we’re dead. Get behind me!”

I had no choice. Aaron had made up his mind, and he launched the power built up in his blade directly at the approaching ogres, along with the goblin shaman behind them. 

The goblin shaman realized what was happening and sent in the ogres to block the tech-art.

“It’s too late for that!” Aaron shouted. “Grand Cross!”

Aaron had mastered the tech-art over decades of practice, and he was quicker than the ogres. The ground beneath them glowed white, transforming into a pillar of light that burst through the roof above. Because the room was underground, an unbelievable amount of debris rained down around us as the Grand Cross exploded.

“Fate, come with me!” Aaron called as he grabbed me around the waist.

Without realizing it, I let loose a decidedly feminine squeal of surprise. However, Aaron ignored my reaction and deftly jumped from rubble to debris as it fell around us. It was very cool, and I suddenly understood how the Hart family’s head servant Haru could be so charmed by this old man. However, I didn’t have time to linger on the thought as we burst into the air aboveground.

“The goblin shaman still lives,” Aaron said.

“So it seems. But I’m a little worried…wasn’t Miria fighting on the ground above us?”


“There’s no need to worry. I made sure she wasn’t above us when I launched my attack. Look over there, in that fallen tree to the left.”

I looked down from the sky and saw Miria hiding in the shade of the large tree, looking up at us as she shouted complaints. I couldn’t hear the words, but I had a feeling I knew what she was saying. I could have died! Were you trying to kill me?! You battle-crazy jerk! Her complaints were probably directed at me, even though the battle-crazy one was definitely Aaron.

“She’s waving her hand,” Aaron said. “I’m glad to see she’s still got some fight in her.”

“She’s fuming, Aaron. The ground literally exploded under her feet.”

Aaron burst into laughter.

“It’s no laughing matter!” I shouted.

As we hung in the air, I searched and locked onto the goblin shaman’s magical signature. When I found it, I realized it had used an ogre as a shield against the Grand Cross and plummeted to the earth along with the monster’s dead body.

“We’ve got space, which means there’s more room to move. But that goes for them as well as us,” Aaron said. “Let’s do it, Fate!”

“This time for sure,” I shouted.

“Let’s finish this before my sword breaks completely!”

Aaron took my hand and threw me in the direction of the goblin shaman. Then he moved in to fight the remaining ogres. However, he wouldn’t be able to handle them all with his sword in such poor condition, and if my senses were right, at least ten ogres still remained.

I gripped my holy sword tight in hand as I flew toward the goblin shaman. I was heading straight for it, but I had been overly optimistic when I assumed that the monster was helpless. The goblin shaman expected my attack and knew there was no way for either of us to dodge as we plummeted through the air. The monster pointed its staff at me and began to cast a huge fireball.

It has the Fireball spell?!

With Greed, I could have cut it down with the black scythe, but all I had now was a holy sword. In that case, was Grand Cross the best option? If our powers clashed, it would negate both of our attacks. I was about to give up entirely when the goblin shaman was hit by a different Grand Cross attack. It was strong enough to interrupt the monster’s spell, but where had it come from? I assumed Aaron had used it until I heard a girl’s voice from below.

“Now! Finish it!”

It was Memil, looking up at me. Still in her maid’s uniform, she gripped a holy sword in her hands. Ever since she arrived at Barbatos Manor, she had agreed to obey strict rules that forbade her from any holy knight conduct. That included acting with the authority of a holy knight, as well as carrying and using holy swords. Tech-arts were, naturally, completely out of the question. But she’d broken all of those rules in order to save me, knowing she would be punished when the kingdom found out. 

I was shocked, but also ashamed of myself for feeling the way I did. Memil was no longer a member of the Vlerick family. She was a Barbatos now, and she was saving a sibling in need of her help. I nodded as I flew toward the goblin shaman.

“This ends now!”

Memil’s surprise attack had opened a weakness in the goblin shaman’s defenses, and my sword plunged easily through its ribcage, piercing its heart.

The goblin screamed with a voice that sounded unlike that of any living creature, and I covered my ears instinctively. At the same time, a red light poured out of its body. As that light began to fade, I felt my consciousness fade with it.

***

When I opened my eyes, I was in a world of white. All around me, the ground stretched out into a horizon of endless white. It was a place I knew all too well. Luna had created it as a kind of dam to block my Gluttonous urges. It was a mental construct I thought of as the spiritual plane. If I was back in this place, it meant that Roxy and I were back in our own bodies.

“But it’s not over yet.”

I turned to the voice that spoke and found a girl with white hair standing before me. Her near-emotionless features reminded me of Myne.

“Luna!”

“Do you know how tough it was for me to have to deal with this soul-swap thing? Ugh…”

“I…I’m sorry,” I said.

She was talking about my Gluttony’s hunger and how it had rendered Roxy unconscious. Memil had helped keep things from getting out of control, but Luna had played a role behind the scenes too.

“If I weren’t here, Roxy’s soul would have been just another snack for your Gluttony. You owe me big time, now.”

“That sounds kind of terrifying,” I admitted. “Paying Myne back for her favor was a whole ordeal.”

“What do you mean, ordeal?! Paying my sister back is the whole reason I’m here and able to protect you now! I’m glad Myne isn’t here to hear you say that. She’d be so sad. You…you’ll have to work a lot harder yet, you hear?” 

Luna berated me in a way that reminded me a lot of her sister.

“Okay, so how do I pay you back, then?” I asked.

“It’s simple. I want you to stop Myne. She’s trying to open the Door to Distant Lands.”

I couldn’t ignore the sincerity in her eyes as she spoke. Myne had said she was looking for the door. It was something she couldn’t let go of—her reason for living.

“Luna, I still don’t know anything at all about the Door. Greed won’t tell me anything either.”

“Greed is always like that. I’m stuck watching from here, but I know. It’s beginning… No. I feel like it might have already begun. I can feel it.”

“It’s not good, is it?”

“Nobody will come away from this happy… Nobody.”

If Luna’s words were true, then why was Myne doing this? I didn’t have a clue. If I wanted to find out, I would just have to ask her myself.

But right now, I had to slay the remaining ogres in the Hobgoblin Forest. Aaron was on his own; even someone as strong as him would struggle against ten ogres. On top of that, I was worried about Roxy, Miria, and Memil. The more I thought about it, the more my worries grew. I had to hurry. Before I left, I gave Luna my thanks.

“Thank you for protecting Roxy, Luna. I’m grateful to you. Let’s talk more about Myne later.”

“Wait a minute!” Luna grabbed my hand. There was an apologetic tilt to her frown. I had never seen her like this before. “By coming here, Roxy might have found out about your current condition…”

“Ah… I see…” All I could manage was a dry chuckle. 

But Luna wasn’t done yet. “You told her you wouldn’t lie to her anymore. It’d be nice if you kept that promise. Both for you, and for me…”

I couldn’t bring myself to respond. I didn’t have time to get any deeper into the topic. Perhaps it looked to her like I was running away from the problem, but time was of the essence. I put the spiritual plane behind me.



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