Berserk of Gluttony (LN) - Volume 6 - Chapter 12

Chapter 12:

Back to The Desert of Extinction

I PACED THE QUIET STREETS, calming my heart after the shock of meeting my father. Night came fast, and before I knew it, the moon shone high in the sky. The time for our hunt was fast approaching.

“Time to head back,” said Greed.

“Let’s go.”

When I reached the manor, Eris and Roxy were ready and waiting. Eris had her gunblade equipped and a haughty, unimpressed look on her face, probably because I was a little late. 

“Thought you weren’t going to show,” she said.

“Sorry. You wouldn’t believe what happened.”

“Whatever it was, it better explain why you’re late.”

I looked at Eris and Roxy, then Memil and LeChoix behind them, and a twinge of hesitation stalled me. This felt like a private problem—a problem between a father and his son. But when I met Roxy’s gaze, I knew I couldn’t hide it.

“I saw my father again,” I said.

“Huh?!” Eris’s eyes widened.

Likewise, Roxy put a hand to her mouth in surprise, worry filling her eyes. “Are you okay? You didn’t fight him?”

“It didn’t come to that. If it had, you would have heard it.”

“The city would be a shambles,” added Eris. “So what? Did your dad have something to say?”

“I got some information, but I don’t know how much we can trust it. He said that Laine is safe. He claims she’s actually traveling with him of her own free will now.”

Relief flowed into Roxy and Memil’s faces, their shoulders no longer tense. Laine had given them both a great deal of help. Her insight had enabled Roxy and I to return to our original bodies, and her research had allowed Memil to understand and control her Blood Lust. Consequently, they both knew Laine well, and her safety had weighed on their minds since the day of her kidnapping.

“I’m so relieved,” said Roxy.

“I also learned something about the monster in the desert. According to my father, it’s called a holy beast.”

“A holy beast?!” Eris seemed to freeze at the mere mention of that phrase. She wasn’t one to show her true emotions easily, so her reaction worried Roxy and Memil. Even LeChoix, who barely knew Eris at all, seemed shaken by her reaction.

“What’s wrong, Eris? Do you know about such creatures?”

“I… I do. To think, a holy beast,” she murmured. Her mouth contorted into an uncertain frown as she looked up at the midnight sky. “I’m sorry, but only Fate and I can manage this battle. The rest of you will only get in our way.”

“What?” Roxy cried, unable to disguise her dismay.

She had prepared for battle only to be told to stay out of it. Roxy was well aware that she couldn’t fight on the front lines because she wasn’t in the Domain of E, but I knew she had intended to play a support role. Now Eris was telling her that she couldn’t even do that. Nonetheless, however she felt, these words came from the queen herself, and Roxy couldn’t protest. 

I still wanted answers. “What are you talking about? Why?” 

“A holy beast is…not just a monster in the Domain of E,” said Eris. “Can you guarantee her protection? If you can’t, then she’s better off left behind. That’s all I’m telling you.”

“I will protect Roxy. No matter what.” I clenched my fist. “But it’s not just a holy beast we’re dealing with. There’s also the desert sandmen that have grown more aggressive.”

I glanced at LeChoix for confirmation, and she nodded.

“If Roxy doesn’t take care of the sandmen, we won’t be able to dedicate our focus to the holy beast.”

“Fay…” Roxy knew better than anyone that in terms of stats, she lagged behind the rest of us. But as she opened her mouth to speak, I put a hand up to stop her. 

I turned to Eris to continue explaining my reasoning. 

Before I could, however, she stepped close to me, leaned in, and whispered in my ear, “Listen to me well. If you intend to bring her with us, and into battle, then make sure you’re prepared for the worst.”

“You mean…”

“You know what I mean,” interrupted Eris. “If she tells you she wants to form a bond, then be sure you are ready to do what’s needed. There’s always the risk that she loses control and falls into Soul Decay.”

Soul Decay: the phenomenon that had transformed Rafale and Hado into wretched monsters when their souls couldn’t handle the raw power of the Domain of E. If Roxy formed a bond with me and fell into Soul Decay, if she became a monster… 

I could barely bring myself to think about it.

If I grew any closer to her—if such a bond was formed—there was no telling what would happen to my own body as my Gluttony ravened for her even more.

“If it comes to that, I will do what I have to,” I said. “But I need a little time.”

“I’d love to tell you to go ahead, but it’s not my decision. It’s Roxy’s.”

She was exactly right. I cast a glance at Roxy. We were about to face a monster we knew nothing about, but her eyes burned with resolve. When she caught my gaze, she nodded. 

When Eris noticed the strength in her eyes, she punched me lightly in the stomach. “Fine. You keep an eye on her, and she can come along. I want to see her skills for myself, anyway.” Having said her piece, Eris walked away from me and turned to everyone. With sudden frivolity, she announced, “Well, then! Let’s get to it!”

Roxy and I shouted in response as LeChoix and Memil sent us off.

“I’m sorry I don’t have the strength to aid you in your battle,” said LeChoix. “Good luck out there.”

“Master, Lady Roxy, Your Majesty! You can’t lose here! We have yet to even reach Hausen! Go take that monster down!”

“Leave it to us,” I said.

I answered with a confident swagger, not wanting them to worry, but my stomach was churning. This was a monster I knew nothing about. Even so, the tension had left Roxy’s face. I had a feeling that I would have to thank LeChoix for that—that is, if we returned from our upcoming battle safely. We waved to LeChoix and Memil, put the town behind us, and entered the desert.

***

The Lanchester estate was on the eastern border of the Desert of Extinction. A cold wind cut through the air, and sand dunes limned by silver moonlight stretched far off into the horizon. A familiar monster, a symbol of the trackless wastes before us, seemed to herald our arrival. However, the monsters were not quite as I remembered them. Roxy and Eris noticed the change too.

“There’s something off about these sandmen,” said Roxy. “They look like they’re made of rocks, and it’s like they’re cloaked in a jet-black aura or something.”

“Is it Soul Decay?”

“No, it’s something else,” said Eris. “They’ve been forced to accept the holy beast’s Divine Providence.”

“Divine Providence?” 

“An effect that manifests a creature’s full potential.”

“What do you mean by that?” I asked. “It looks like a monster that simply turned into an uglier monster.”

Eris laughed. “Exactly. Because you see, not every creature is worthy of Divine Providence. If you aren’t worthy but you receive it anyway… Well, the results are right in front of you. Monsters become more monstrous. But don’t underestimate them. Fate, best use your Identify skill before they swarm us.”

“On it.”

I turned my gaze on one of the sandmen and used Identify. But something about Eris’s words nagged at me. The idea that if you weren’t worthy of Divine Providence, you instead became more monstrous. It seemed eerily similar to the bonds made through Skills of Mortal Sin. I didn’t know for certain, but it seemed to me that there was some sort of link between Skills of Mortal Sin and the holy beasts. I could feel it. It didn’t help matters that even hearing the phrase “holy beast” had put Eris on edge.

There was no time to waste on speculation, however. I needed to understand these new sandmen and see their stats and skills. When I was last here, they were about Level 30, and their stats had hovered around the high one thousands, except for their agility, which had sat at about one hundred. This made them slow. As for skills, they had Spirit Boost (Medium).

So how about these new sandmen?

Dark Sandman Lv. 30

Vitality: 239000

Strength: 290000

Magic: 132000

Spirit: 176000

Agility: 10000

Skills: Gale Blade, Health Regen

Not only had their stats increased considerably, but the monsters now knew Gale Blade and Health Regen. I had Health Regen myself, so I knew how useful it was. With it, you could heal any non-fatal wound. But the dark sandman was not a crowned beast; it was only a mid-tier monster. A crowned beast with the Health Regen skill would be an utter nightmare. At least now I understood why these sandmen were giving LeChoix and her soldiers so much trouble.

After further analyzing the Gale Blade, I shared what I learned with Eris and Roxy.

“They’re called dark sandmen, and they’re a hefty step up from your regular sandmen monsters. Their strength stat is almost 300,000. But their agility is still lacking, at only 10,000. As for skills, they have Health Regen and Gale Blade, which works by creating an air vacuum that literally slices through the air. It’s a long-range attack, so you have to be careful—if the monster gets in range, it will definitely try to mince you into pieces.”

“You heard him, better be careful, Roxy,” said Eris.

“Understood.”

The information was most important for Roxy. Since Eris and I were in the Domain of E, the attacks of a dark sandman couldn’t harm us. Even the Gale Blade wouldn’t leave a scratch. We would feel the impact of the attack but suffer no actual damage. Even so, getting battered by wind in the middle of a battle against a holy beast could still prove to be a problem. It might even prove fatal if the holy beast took advantage of the openings it could create. That was why Roxy had to take care of the dark sandmen that surrounded the holy beast.

Eris stared closely at Roxy and finally spoke. “Roxy! Are you ready?”

“Ready for battle?”

“Indeed. But by yourself, first. I want you to show us what you can do, and I’m setting one condition before you head out there.”

“A condition?”

Eris chuckled. “All things in good time. First, listen up. We have to change how we refer to these monsters—‘dark sandman’ is too long and awkward, so we’ll stick to darkness. That’s what we call monsters that fail to receive Divine Providence. Short and sweet. Same goes for you, Fate.”

“Whatever you say,” I replied.

“Understood,” said Roxy.

Eris stared out at the darkness with a crooked grin. “You see that one out there? You have ten seconds to kill it. If you can’t do that, you’re going back to the manor.”

“Eris!” I protested. “What the hell?!”

“You heard me. If she can’t handle this level of monster, she’s only going to make the real battle more difficult. Let me be clear: When it comes to battle, I will be as strict and severe as is necessary. Roxy, what are you going to do?”

Eris’s gaze was fixed on Roxy, but Roxy didn’t flinch.

“I’ll do it. If you need to see it firsthand, then I will prove my worth in battle.”

“That’s what I like to hear! I love a girl with guts. It’s settled, then!”

Roxy unsheathed her sword and shifted into a battle stance. The darkness in the distance still hadn’t noticed us. If she closed the distance quickly and took it by surprise, ten seconds wouldn’t be an issue. However, fighting on sand was a problem. Unlike hard ground, the harder you planted your feet, the more you sank. I made a point of not telling Roxy because I wanted her to pass Eris’s test without any help. 

“Good to go, Roxy?” asked Eris.

“Ready when you are.”

“Then begin!”

Perhaps it was the nerves, but Roxy almost took a tumble as she kicked off the sand. However, she quickly shifted her body weight, found her balance, and sped toward the darkness. It was hard to believe that she was running on sand with how quickly she moved. But the battle had only just begun, and there was no room for error. 

I watched on silently. I believed in her. I believed she could do it.