Berserk of Gluttony (LN) - Volume 5 - Chapter 14

Chapter 14:

Unceasing Black Flames

I WOKE UP TO FIND a worried-looking Sahara and Lady Aisha watching over me. Their faces flooded with relief when I nodded at them. 

“You’re back. Thank goodness…” said Lady Aisha.

“My lord!” Sahara leapt toward me as she spoke. She’d been so worried, and she cried as she pressed her head against my chest. I wanted to stay and comfort her, but I had to go.

“It’s all going to be fine,” I said. “But they’re still fighting in the forest.”

I got out of bed, and then I realized what I was wearing. I looked at Lady Aisha and Sahara. “You equipped me for battle already?”

“We did,” said Lady Aisha. “After all, a holy knight must always be ready for battle. I was married to a holy knight, I’ll have you know. We can’t have you lounging around in your pajamas when there’s a battle out there.”

“Thank you.”

“Well, I know you, Fate,” Lady Aisha said with a reassuring grin. “You’re heading back out there, aren’t you?”

There was something about her smile in that moment that filled me with a strange sense of confidence. Perhaps it was indeed because she had once been the wife of a holy knight. Was this how she had seen off her husband, Lord Mason? Except…he’d never returned. 

All the same, she believed in me, and I didn’t intend to break her trust. “I am,” I said. “And I’ll bring Roxy back with me. I promise!”

“I like that look in your eyes. Very fitting for a holy knight! Here, take this.”

Lady Aisha took the black sword resting against the bed and held it out. Even though I’d held it just the other day, it felt like reuniting with an old friend. I bid Lady Aisha and Sahara farewell once more and leaped through the bedroom window. It wasn’t the polite way to exit the manor, but this wasn’t the time for proper etiquette.

“Go get them, my lord!”

“Bring everyone back safe!”

The voices faded behind me as I landed in the manor gardens and leaped into the sky with every stat I had. In mere moments, I passed over the Holy Knight District and quickly approached the western gate of the Merchant District.

Gripping the black sword tight in hand, I engaged my Telepathy skill. A familiar, arrogant voice greeted me.

“Finally back, I see,” said Greed.

“Yeah, but…”

“So it’s not over yet?”

“Not yet. But more importantly, isn’t it about time you told me about the Door to Distant Lands?”

“Curious, are you? But it’s still a little too soon for that.”

“Still?! But Luna said that might be the cause for what’s happening here.”

“Damn that girl and her loose tongue. This is exactly why Myne left you behind.”

I landed on the rampart of the western gate. As expected, the road was still deserted. By the next day, things would start returning to normal. I looked out toward the Hobgoblin Forest. Voluminous clouds of debris rose into the air where the battle still raged. It was time to join the fray.

I sent power into my legs and leaped into the air. The bricks beneath my feet cracked and shattered from the sheer force of the jump. I could pay for the repairs later. I was just glad the battle wasn’t taking place within Seifort’s walls. What would Eris say if she returned to a kingdom once again devastated by battle?

“Does Eris really intimidate you that much?” Greed asked.

“Stop reading my mind.”

“You’re one to talk, telepath. Why don’t you fill in the mighty Greed for once? What are Roxy and the others fighting?” 

“They’re called ogres. They were born from human corpses. Do you know if they’re like nightwalkers? Are they the sort of monster that has a bad effect on my Gluttony?”

That would make them harder to fight. Even the memory of how painful it had been to eat a nightwalker’s soul filled me with unease. 

Greed cackled noisily. “Relax, Fate! They’re monsters born from a different path. They’re like failed creations with unusually high stats.”

“Aaron said they’re at the low end of the Domain of E.”

“If they’re regular ogres, then that’s what I’d expect. But you defeated the Divine Dragon, so for you they’ll be little more than an appetizer.”

“Then I look forward to the feast. I can feel Gluttony’s hunger creeping up within me, even though Memil drank so much of my blood.”

“It’s because Roxy’s soul was in your body. Can’t be helped. Just be glad it didn’t devour her entirely. You know who to thank for that.”

He was referring to Luna, but he didn’t like saying her name. There was something about her that left him ill at ease. However, he still turned up on the spiritual plane every night to help me hone my skills. Putting our souls on the line to fight in such a place had raised my mental resilience. In other words, it was a way for me to improve my resistance to Gluttony.

“If they’ve got stats at the low end of the Domain of E, then it’s a perfect chance for you to put what I’ve been training you for every night into practice. It’s time for you to show me what you’ve learned.”

“And it just so happens that I’m hungry too. It’s been a while since we’ve been able to really feast.”

I burst into the Hobgoblin Forest, weaving quickly between the trees. The roar of battle grew louder as I neared. I drew the black sword from its sheath, leaped over a fallen tree, and sliced through an ogre’s neck. A familiar metallic voice echoed inside of me as I moved, a sign that I was truly back in my own body.

Gluttony skill activated. Stats increased: Vitality +1.1E(+8), Strength +1.1E(+8), Magic +1.0E(+8), Spirit +1.0E(+8), Agility +1.0E(+8). Skills added: Strength Overload+

Ah, so their stats really are just at the lower boundary, I thought. But they have the Strength Overload+ skill, it seems. 

I figured it was an upgrade to the Strength Overload skill that the High Orcs of Galia had, but just to make sure, I Identified it:

Strength Overload+: Quadruples the user’s strength for a set period of time. After use, the user’s strength stat drops to 20% of its total. Recovery takes one day. 

Not only was the skill twice as powerful as the base skill, but the negative aftereffect was halved. It was still a difficult skill to use, but it showed its true worth in the direst circumstances. I had obliterated the Divine Dragon with its sister skill.

I flicked my sword free of ogre blood and approached Roxy and the others.

“Fay!” Roxy said as she ran up and gripped me in a hug.

I took a step back out of her embrace. I had to keep my mind on the battle. “You’re okay…” 

“We were worried about you.”

“It’s time to finish this.” 

I looked over at Memil, who was injured. Roxy and Miria were trying to look after her while they kept clear of the ogres. Memil had been hurt just before I arrived. “How is she?” I asked.

“It’s nothing serious,” Roxy replied. “She got hurt trying to protect me. The wound looked awful at first, but it started healing all on its own… I don’t understand it.”

“We can talk about that afterward. For now, let’s focus on the ogres.”

I didn’t want to discuss Memil’s secret without her permission. She looked human, but there was something else inside of her, much like my Gluttony. Discussing the monsters within us was not something done lightly.

“How’s Aaron?”

“Aaron is…”

I followed Roxy’s gaze. Plumes of dirt and dust flew into the air. Along with them, I heard a bellowing laughter. Aaron sounded like he was having a great time. I knew that he’d sensed my magical energy as soon as I arrived. He was plunging his almost completely broken holy sword into the mouth of an ogre as he appeared before me. 

“You’re late!” he said. “At this rate, I’m going to finish them all by myself.”

“How many are left?” I asked.

“Seven—wait. Including the one you just killed and the one I’m finishing off right now, that leaves…five.”

“Never know when to quit, do you?” I snorted.

When I was still in Roxy’s body, Aaron’s sword had been pushed to the limits of its durability. Despite that, he had taken down four ogres while protecting Roxy and the others. Aaron was getting stronger and stronger with every fight, but I wasn’t about to lose to him yet.

“I’m glad you got here when you did,” Aaron said. “That one ogre escaped my grasp and headed straight for Roxy. I heard Memil scream, but I was surrounded, and I couldn’t get to them in time.”

Aaron muttered about how he needed to polish his skills as he forced his blade through an ogre’s skull. Then a pained cry escaped his lips as his sword finally snapped. The metallic crack echoed through the forest.

“Well, that’s it for me,” Aaron said. “Can I leave the rest to you?”

Aaron’s blade had snapped only a few inches above the cross guard, but he put what remained back in his sheath. Then he grinned as he went on.

“It’s been a while, hasn’t it? Sometimes you have to get your fill, or you just feel it aching inside of you, right?”

“You know me too well,” I said. “No hiding anything from you.”

“Well, I am your father now, so it’s my job to know you. I’ll take care of Roxy and the others. Go for broke!” Aaron patted me on the shoulder and went over to Memil, gently hoisting her onto his shoulder. “Roxy, Miria, we’re heading back to the kingdom now. Fate will take care of the rest.”

“But…I…I still…” Roxy searched for the right words, but she held her tongue and left with the others. I could tell by the ebb of their magical energy that they moved with haste. In less than a few minutes, they had already left the Hobgoblin Forest. It was almost like they were afraid I would annihilate the entire wood.

As the ogres turned to face me, Greed laughed. “Well then, you better give them what they’re clamoring for.”

“Don’t be stupid. This forest is the kingdom’s primary source of water. And I’m technically a holy knight too. I’d be in for a world of hurt if I pulled out all the stops here.”

“I see, I see,” said Greed with a chuckle. “Then let’s give these ogres a world of hurt instead.”

Greed relished the moment, and he transformed himself from the black sword into a black staff.

Oh, come on! I thought. Seriously? Here?

“It’s about time you learned how to use my fourth level already,” he said. “And today you won’t be able to use the mighty Greed in any other way!”

“Greed! Don’t be so selfish! Go back to being a sword!”

“I don’t feel like it.”

I groaned. The fourth level was way too strong. That was why I hadn’t used it when I fought Rafale back in the kingdom. If I had, there was every chance I would have flooded Seifort in a sea of fire. The black staff required a delicate touch. I felt much more comfortable using it for Twilight Healing than I did deploying it in battle. After all, healing things didn’t involve any destruction, and I didn’t need to worry about control. 

“So, the question is…will you kill only the ogres, or will you raze the Hobgoblin Forest to the ground? I’m going to enjoy watching this!”

“Enjoy it all you want. Sit back and watch me go to work!”

“Time for you to brush up on your staff wielding. Can’t have you thinking only about your Gluttony skill!”

I advanced toward the ogres, staff in hand. Five remained. Without the direction of the goblin shaman, they fought as if in a free-for-all. They stared at me, not a hint of intelligence in their eyes, strings of drool dripping from their swollen mouths. They were driven only by their desire to devour human flesh.

Are these the embodiment of a monster’s base instincts?

I didn’t have time to finish my thought. I had to focus on controlling the black staff. Greed forced this handicap on me for a reason: There was another level ahead, and I had to be prepared to handle it. If I had trouble controlling Greed’s fourth level, what would that mean for the fifth? 

I started with a small experiment. When one of the ogres attempted to attack me, I easily dodged its blow. As I moved past its swing, I gently tapped it on the stomach with the black staff.

“Graaaaaah!”

The ogre’s stomach glowed as a black flame swallowed it from within. It fell to the ground and rolled around, but the fire refused to go out. These flames were the physical manifestation of a curse. Even when the ogre had roasted alive and burnt to cinders, the flames still smoldered on the ground where the ogre had fallen.

“An inextinguishable flame. Another terrifying power to learn…”

I still had a ways to go before I could properly control it. As the metallic voice told me of my increased stats, I stared ahead at the remaining four ogres.