Berserk of Gluttony (LN) - Volume 5 - Chapter 9

Chapter 9:

How to Calm a Mortal Sin

MEMIL WAS WAITING FOR US in the entrance hall, almost as if she had anticipated my return. There was a thin smile on her lips as she looked over at Roxy slumped over my shoulder.

“Ah, so it did happen,” she said knowingly. “And it looks like you’re just in time. Come this way…”

Memil had sensed the changes within Roxy when she’d seen us that morning. Roxy hadn’t let anything slip while in front of me, but apparently it had been a different story while Memil was helping her get changed. Roxy had suffered a momentary dizzy spell while getting to her feet and had been unsteady for a short time.

“You could have warned me…” I muttered.

“Roxy made me promise not to say anything. I’m sorry, my lord.”

“Ah, so that’s how it was.”

In the past, Memil had been involved in a scheme to send Roxy to Galia. She still regretted that, so she felt like she should at least respect Roxy’s wishes now. When she noticed that Roxy’s symptoms were similar to the side effects of Gluttony, she hoped she was just imagining things. All the same, she had decided to wait at the manor for our return, just in case. It was kind and thoughtful of her, and I was grateful as I followed her to my room.

My relationship with Memil was the exact opposite of what it once had been. Even so, a small part of that old relationship lingered, mainly because it had only been a month since Memil’s arrival. If our relationship was going to begin anew, we needed time for old wounds to heal. However, in that short time, we had developed a mutually beneficial arrangement. If we wanted to save Roxy’s life, we would need to make use of those benefits.

“Are you sure you’ll be all right?” I asked. “It hasn’t been long since last night.”

“It won’t be a problem,” Memil said. “I could do this every day.”

She flashed a crooked grin, and I couldn’t help but reply in kind with a wan smile, having gone through this process several times myself. I laid Roxy down on my bed and backed away. Meanwhile, Memil approached Roxy, whose face was pained.

“May I start?” Memil asked.

“Please. We have to save her from the Gluttony.”

“Very well.”

Memil leaned over Roxy and opened her mouth. Her canines lengthened into wickedly sharp fangs, which she plunged into Roxy’s neck. This was the effect of Blood Lust, an affliction that Memil now bore thanks to her brother, Rafale.

According to Laine, Shin—the nightwalker source—was the cause of this curse. Like Rafale, Memil carried a part of Shin within her. Unlike her brother, however, it had become an integral part of her. This allowed Memil the ability to control her nightwalker power without falling under Shin’s influence. 

Normally, a bite from a nightwalker meant the victim turned into a living corpse, cursed to mindlessly attack anyone and everyone around them. However, Memil could control her power and prevent such things from happening. She wasn’t truly a part of the nightwalker source; it was more like her existence hovered on its periphery. Blood Lust was the term we used for the times when she lost control of her urges.

To make matters worse, ordinary human blood wasn’t enough to satiate Memil’s Blood Lust. She had an instinctive understanding of what blood she truly thirsted for. The blood she craved…was mine.

On the day Aaron had first brought Memil from the castle to officially begin her duties as the Barbatos family servant, our eyes had locked and a devilish smile spread across her face. She hadn’t even been aware of that smile. Rather, it had been an instinctual reaction driven by her thirst for my blood. Seeing that gaze for the first time left me in a cold sweat. I’d felt like prey stalked by a predator.

Since then, after Laine gave us a full explanation, I’d offered my blood to Memil once a week. If I didn’t do so, there was every chance that Memil might lose herself to the Blood Lust and hurt Aaron, or Sahara, or even someone from the neighboring Hart Manor. Memil insisted that her Blood Lust would never get so bad that she would lose herself to it, so perhaps I worried too much, but still. 

More importantly, the first time Memil drank deep of my blood led us to an important discovery: This act seemed to calm the ravening of my Gluttony. Greed speculated that Shin’s Skill of Mortal Sin clashed with my Gluttony, and the two cancelled each other out. There was no conclusive proof either way, but Shin’s ability to create nightwalkers was apparently a consequence of this skill. Now, a part of that skill resided in Memil, meaning that when she imbibed my blood, both of our powers were temporarily neutralized.

I watched as Memil drank up. From the rapturous expression on her face, I knew that she considered the blood delicious. I’d never seen her face when she drank my blood before, and I never could’ve imagined that it was something she did with such ecstasy. 

“I’m done,” Memil said, licking an errant drop of crimson from her lips. “Though I had to take quite a bit to tame that hunger within you this time.”

She clarified that she’d had no choice but to take so much blood that my body could just barely function. Though it had calmed the Gluttonous urges and numbed the agony, Roxy was so drained of blood that she was now borderline comatose.

“There was no other way,” said Memil. “Roxy will be fine for now, but if the Gluttony threatens to get out of control again, I won’t be able to stop it. I can’t take any more from her.”

“I see…” I said. “But thank you, Memil. You saved her.”

Memil turned away from me, a little embarrassed. 

Regardless, Roxy’s condition was stable and under control, and I slumped into a chair by the side of the bed. “Can I ask you something, Memil?”

“What is it?”

“Is my blood delicious?”

“The taste of your blood…”

“Well?”

“It’s a secret!”

Why won’t she tell me? 

My shoulders slumped further into the chair just as Miria burst into the room. Aaron and Sahara entered soon after. They looked worried, but their faces relaxed when we explained that Roxy’s condition was stable.

“My lord!” said Sahara. “I’ll go and call for Lady Aisha.”

“Good idea. Thank you, Sahara.”

“Don’t worry, I’m on it!”

With her pigtails bobbing left and right, Sahara ran back out of the room. I was relieved that she could keep such a cool head in a crisis. 

In any case, it would be easier to take care of Roxy with Lady Aisha’s assistance. Because Memil was a maid of the Barbatos family, it would have been a little awkward for her to take care of Roxy by herself. I knew the Hart family wasn’t one to gossip about personal business, but their high rank meant that the servants of other families were extra careful to treat them with the appropriate level of respect.

For example, when I’d stayed the night at Hart Manor, Haru had fastidiously treated me as a holy knight from a visiting family, even though we were acquaintances who knew each other well. Though I often forgot the fact that I was a holy knight, it was a position of extreme privilege within the kingdom. 

Even Memil breathed a sigh of relief when Sahara announced that she was going to get Lady Aisha. “I’m relieved to hear it,” she said. “Her visit will be an honor for humble maids such as Sahara and myself.”

Miria pushed past me and took hold of Roxy’s hand. “Lady Roxy, hang in there, please… Fate, are you sure she’ll be okay?”

“She’ll be fine for the time being.”

I hadn’t told Miria or Sahara exactly what we’d done to save Roxy, not wanting to reveal Memil’s Blood Lust. It didn’t feel like a good idea to say anything just yet, so I kept it a secret. 

Memil had asked me not to tell others about her condition when she first arrived at the manor. Besides me, the only people who knew were Aaron, Laine, Eris, and Eris’s two white knights. Once all this was over, I’d have to add Roxy to that list, of course.

I empathized with Memil’s desire to keep her Blood Lust secret. Ever since my Gluttony had awakened, the idea that the world might find out that I lived outside the boundaries of levels, stats, and skills—or that one day I would be consumed by my own skill and turn into a monster—terrified me. So much so that I hadn’t even wanted to think about how Roxy would react.

I told Miria that Roxy was tired and needed rest, reassuring her that she’d be okay. 

Then Aaron put a hand on my shoulder and gave me a nod. “What do we do now?” he asked. “You’re still stuck in Roxy’s body.”

“We know the monster at the root of this curse. I’m going to hunt it down and kill it. Laine said that doing so would break the spell and return us back to our original bodies.”

“Ah, so it’s a spell that must be broken. It sounds similar to the lich lord and the curse it used to bind and control souls. Only this time, the curse doesn’t control souls; it swaps them.”

Aaron was referring to a crowned beast we had fought together, a lich lord known as the Genesis of Death. That had been back when I first met Aaron, during my journey to Galia. The lich lord, after taking up residence in Aaron’s fallen estate, had bound the souls of the dead to our world and used their bodies as puppets. It had even manipulated the rotting cadavers of Aaron’s wife and son to torment him over many long years. With my assistance, Aaron had persevered and destroyed the lich lord, thereby setting all the bound souls on their journey to the hereafter. 

“Allow me to accompany you!” Aaron stated. “I will not allow such a creature to go unpunished!”

“Of course. I’ll need as much help as I can get.”

“Ah…I’m getting excited… I ache for the taste of battle!”

Recently, Aaron’s work had kept him cooped up at the castle, so he longed for a chance to throw himself into the fury of a good fight. I knew he’d been waiting for the moment when I asked for his help again. After all, he’d entered the room with his sword at the ready, attached to his belt. He somehow always knew when there was a chance for battle. Already in the Domain of E, he was not only the most powerful old man I knew, he was getting stronger every day.

“I’ll fight alongside you in Roxy’s body,” I said, “but if any of the monsters we encounter have reached the Domain of E, you’ll have to take them alone. Your wounds from the fight with Rafale…have they healed?”

“I’m as healthy as I look. Leave it to me, Fate. I’m ready.”

It was like the old guy was almost too prepared. Regardless, I felt certain of victory with Aaron by my side. We continued to discuss our plans as Miria strode toward us, urgency plainly written on her face.

“Don’t forget me,” she said.

“Ah, is Miria coming too, then, Fate?”

“Yes. We don’t know where the goblin shaman will be in the Hobgoblin Forest, so I think greater numbers work to our advantage. Besides, she has a personal stake in this.”

“Your zeal has been known to cause problems, but I can tell you know your way around a sword. Glad to have you on board.”

“I’ll do my best!” Miria giggled. “Wow, did I just get complimented by none other than the great Blessed Blade himself?”

When I complimented her, there was zero reaction, but when Aaron did, she was like a different person. I couldn’t work out why her reaction was so inconsistent, but I had to make sure she understood the gravity of the situation.

“Don’t puff yourself up too much, Miria. We can’t afford to lose this battle.”

“Uh, yeah. Of course I know that. Get off my back, Fate. Ugh, so annoying.”

I’d only wanted to warn her of the dangers ahead, but somehow, I had ended up looking like a jerk. All my good intentions turned to bitter ash in my mouth, and now Miria was parading around, looking so smug.

“Listen, Fate. I have to come along, because sometimes you get reckless and make mistakes.”

“What?! Don’t go acting like I’m the village idiot! She’s got me all wrong. Right, Aaron?”

Aaron remained silent for an unusually long time before opening his mouth. “Ah…sure,” he said finally.

Wait, does that mean that I really do act a bit impulsively? Does that mean Miria is right? But…that’s impossible. I would have looked to Greed for support, but it wasn’t like Roxy’s body had spontaneously developed Telepathy.

I set the black sword next to Roxy by the bed. “Look after her, Greed.”

There was no answer, but somewhere I felt like I could almost hear the black sword’s voice saying, “You won’t have the help of yours truly this time, pal!”

Just as we were leaving, Lady Aisha and Sahara burst in through the door. Usually so carefree, Lady Aisha’s face was now creased with worry. She knelt and gasped for breath, clearly exhausted from running the whole way here.

“How is she? How’s Roxy?” she asked.

“She’s stable. We’re heading out now to break the curse.”

“I see…”

Lady Aisha’s shoulders relaxed at the sight of Roxy peacefully sleeping. She had lost her husband, Lord Mason, less than a year ago, and now her only daughter was not only trapped in a different body, she was basically comatose. Though she had joked and teased us earlier that morning, it was clear now that her heart was full of worry. It was only natural.

As soon as we left the room, Lady Aisha said something that made me want to rush back immediately. 

“This body is so sweaty. We need to wipe him down and change his clothes. Memil, Sahara, will you help me?”

I heard one of the girls gulp. Of course, it was Lady Aisha’s nature to prank and tease people. I was reminded once again that the worse the situation, the more she wanted to make light of it. In that way, Lady Aisha and Roxy were very much alike.

“But…that would mean his body would be naked.” Sahara said.

“And it is Fate’s body. Are we not stepping over a line?” Memil added.

“I…I agree with Memil!”

“What are you talking about?! It might be Fate’s body, but it’s my daughter on the inside! If I say it’s fine, then there’s no problem!”

“Oh, that’s a good point.”

“Yes, when you put it that way…”

Whoa! They’re agreeing so easily?!

“Okay, let’s get those clothes off!”

“I’m on it!”

“I’ll help!”

What was happening to my body?! And why did Memil and Sahara sound so eager?! I knew I had to rush back to stop them. Inviting Lady Aisha had been a terrible mistake. She was not the right person for the job! I reached my hand for the door, but—

“What are you doing, Fate?! We have no time to spare!”

“Come on, Fate,” added Miria. “We’ve got a goblin shaman to kill!”

Aaron grabbed my right arm and Miria grabbed my left. Marching together, they dragged me down the hall and out the front door.

“Wait! Guys, wait, I’ve got a bad feeling about what’s happening in my room! A really bad feeling!”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Aisha is in there specifically to tend to your body’s every need. What else is there to worry about?”

“I’m kind of jealous,” said Miria. “You’re lucky you get to receive Lady Aisha’s personal care firsthand…”

“Do you even listen to the things you say?” I moaned.

I looked up at my room as we left the manor. I could still hear their voices from the window. No matter how I looked at it, my body was in serious danger. If I couldn’t go back now, then I couldn’t waste any time; I had to slay that goblin shaman fast. I held the grip of the holy sword that hung from my sword belt and began to run. At last, I felt comfortable moving in Roxy’s body. 

With that, we moved steadily toward the forest, back to where we had found the goblin shaman’s arm.