Berserk of Gluttony (LN) - Volume 6 - Chapter 20

Chapter 20:

A Town Ruined

TALKING WITH ERIS seemed to wake me right up. I wouldn’t get back to sleep anytime soon, so I headed for the desert. I was breaking my promise to the others; we’d agreed to hunt the remaining darkness together. But though I felt a pang of guilt, the effects of battle still lingered within me. I was desperate to go on a rampage, and I couldn’t sit back and wait. Eris was no different; she was frustrated and disappointed in herself for what had happened during the battle with the Zodiac Scorpion.

Long story short, that’s how Eris and I ended up standing in the middle of the desert together.

“Let’s give it a shot then!” she said.

“You’re serious, aren’t you?”

“It’s literally the fastest way to get what we want!”

My face scrunched up nervously. The reason was simple: Eris wanted to use her Lust skill to draw all the darkness to us. The problem, however, was that she planned to go all out. This meant that we’d draw not only the darkness, but any other nearby monsters and crowned beasts. We were guaranteed to become completely surrounded, as they’d charge at us from all directions.

“Get ready, Fate. Think of all those incoming monsters as a buffet for your Gluttony.”

“I need to prepare myself, so give me a second.” I took a deep breath to calm my nerves. Before I could even exhale, I saw sandstorms rising on the horizon. “Eris, I said to give me a second.” 

“I did! So, let’s get to it. I’ll support you with buffs the whole way!”

Eris was hungry for action, and she lured a huge host of monsters to satisfy her. They closed in fast, surrounding us on all sides. There were so many that I was reminded of Galia’s stampedes. Seeing it all unfold got Greed excited too.

“Can you feel your blood boiling, Fate? How long has it been since we’ve feasted on such a spread?”

“Easy for you to be so carefree. You’re not doing the fighting.”

Greed gave a familiar cackle. “But the one fighting needs a weapon, no? In any case, be careful not to overindulge.” 

“Yeah, I know.”

Eris landed the first attacks, slaying several monsters from a distance to charge her gunblade. “One Vanishing Bullet coming right up. They won’t see you coming!”

As soon as the bullet hit me, I took off running. The monsters could no longer sense me. I cut a bloody swathe through the darkness and the other monsters. The metallic voice I’d grown so used to droned on ceaselessly, constantly updating me on my increasing stats.

This battle was the perfect chance to try out my new Gale Blade. And with my stats in the Domain of E, it packed significantly more magical energy. When a darkness cast Gale Blade, it was fairly small, but my version of the skill sliced through the air like a tornado. It sucked in any monsters that had the misfortune of coming too close and spat them out as an indistinct puree of limbs and gore.

“Now this I like!” I said.

“Have your fun, but keep an eye on your Gluttony, yeah?” 

“You worry too much. None of these monsters are in the Domain of E, so I’ll be fine.”

“Hmph, if you say so.”

Even though I’d just finished battling the Zodiac Scorpion, during which I’d unleashed my Gluttony and forced it back under my control, I felt good. Usually after going through that kind of ordeal, I needed Memil’s Blood Lust to neutralize my Gluttonous urges. It was refreshing not to feel that way this time. I wondered if it was because Luna was feeding me more power from within. If she was, I owed her my thanks when I next saw her.

The battle was going exactly as we wanted, and I was enjoying myself more and more. At the same time, a part of me felt like a bully because of the sheer difference in stats. On the other hand, these monsters would only attack any humans who ventured too deep into the desert; nothing good could come of leaving them alone.

I leaped into the middle of a pack of darkness and felt another buff slam into me from Eris’s gunblade. I assumed it was the Phalanx Bullet this time, not that it mattered. None of the monsters were in the Domain of E, so none of their attacks could even leave a scratch, rendering the buff redundant. I couldn’t help but wonder why Eris would use that buff on me as I chopped down the surrounding darkness.

“Eh? What the hell?!” I exclaimed.

I wasn’t just chopping down the surrounding darkness anymore; I was annihilating several monsters that lurked behind them too.

“My power and attack range have gone up!”

Eris tittered. “You can thank the Raging Bullet for that one.”

I turned to find Eris standing atop a hill of darkness corpses.

“The more I use Envy’s support skills, the more my mastery rises, which opens up new bullet types.”

“If that’s the case, then feel free to go wild.”

“If you insist,” she laughed. “Let it be known, I’m way more supportive than I look!”

It was just like her to state the obvious, but I understood that she was trying to rebuild her ego after being triggered at the battle with the Zodiac Scorpion.

The buff of the Raging Bullet had incredible strategic potential. I wondered what it would be like combined with Undivided Mind, or if I unleashed the full power of my Gluttony at the same time. Just imagining the results made me giddy. That said, there was no reason to go so over the top in this kind of battle. The Raging Bullet buff had already made me way overpowered. I was cutting through the darkness like they were nothing.

The battle raged to a close when there were no more monsters left to respond to Eris’s Lust skill. The desert would be free from such menaces for quite some time. Moreover, other than the monsters Eris had killed, we didn’t have to worry about the Door to Distant Lands bringing any of them back to life, because those souls were trapped in the prison of my Gluttony. The Door couldn’t save them from the eternal suffering that awaited them there. Greed had said as much, and I felt it to be true.

Eris and I were drenched in darkness grime and monster blood. In the latter half of the battle, Eris had wanted to polish her blade work, so she’d got up close and personal with the monsters. We were the dictionary definition of a bloody mess.

“It’s so peaceful now, isn’t it?” 

The hint of a smile grew on Eris’s face as the sun crested the horizon behind her.

It was a beautiful sight, but I couldn’t help but wonder how much of Eris’s charm was involved in making it seem that way. There was something tantalizing about her smile, even as she was covered in blood and grime. Something fleeting as well, as if it might vanish in the next moment. Like Myne, Eris had lived for a nearly inconceivable span of time. I was like a newborn by comparison, but even then, I was glad to see a new side of Eris.

“Well, that’s a job well done, if I do say so myself! Shall we head back to the manor, Fate?” Eris wrapped me in a hug, smearing gore on me in the process.

“Ew! You’re getting blood in my eyes!” 

“Don’t act like you don’t like it!”

She was back to her old self again, and I knew she’d be a handful. Still, I much preferred this to the Eris who had sent my heart fluttering with a smile just moments ago.

“Oh?” said Eris, seemingly hearing my thoughts. “Your heart rate has gone up. I wonder why?”

“Th-that’s because we literally just finished fighting!”

“Oh, really? Is that the excuse you intend to use for your rosy face too?”

“Uh…”

“Ohhhhhh, I know what’s happening…”

I turned my face away, but Eris only leaned closer in. Her satisfied smirk bore into me. “I see, I see. Just as I thought.”

“What is it this time?!”

My reaction only made her smile widen, so I let it go. The sand carried by the wind stuck to our bodies, and it was only a matter of time before we became sandmen ourselves. Before that could happen, I began the march back to the estate. Eris followed after me in high spirits.

“That’s the first time we’ve ever fought together as a duo!” she said. “What a rush! I mean, we practically look like sandmen as a result, but on the bright side I’ve got some new bullets to play with!”

“Wait, so you learned more than just the Raging Bullet buff? What else did you pick up?”

“I’d hate to spoil the surprise, so you’ll just have to wait and see!”

I wished she would just tell me, but I was content to let the matter go. I trusted Eris to use those new buffs when the time came. That was exactly what she had done during our battle against the Zodiac Scorpion, and again in the battle we had just won. There was no need for me to tell her to change; we were a party, and parties were founded on trust.

“Hey, Fate.”

“Hm?”

“I’m going to get stronger. I promise. First, I have to get back to where I was at my peak, but eventually, I’m going to settle things once and for all.”

She was talking about the holy beast, Libra. But it wasn’t a burden she bore alone. My father was somehow wrapped up in his plans too. When I met Libra, he’d approached me like he would an ally or friend. But he had his own reasons, even if our goal was the same: to stop the Door to Distant Lands from opening.

“When that time comes, I’ll be here if you need me,” I promised.

“Thank you, Fate.”

By the time we returned to the Lanchester gates, we were completely caked in sand. Even the gatekeepers mistook us for sandmen when they first saw us. We thought it was hysterical but decided against telling Roxy and the others. Back in the manor, we headed straight for the baths.

“A bath would be a nice way to get refreshed and cleaned up, don’t you think?” said Eris.

“The women’s bath is that way.”

Eris laughed. “Oh, you didn’t know? Snow put a hole in the dividing wall, so it’s officially a mixed bath now.”

I suddenly felt very vulnerable to surprise attacks. At the same time, there was no way I could expect Roxy to ride on a motorcycle with me while I looked like this. 

Before I knew it, Eris was dragging me toward the bath. “I’ll clean you up good and proper, don’t you worry!” 

“Eris, stop!” I replied. “There’s no need to use your Domain of E stats here!”

“Deal with it. I’m serious about getting you cleaned up!”

“It’s a bath! It’s supposed to be relaxing!” I protested.

“All right! Here we go!”

I was dragged all over the baths, but I came out clean and refreshed in the end, so I had to settle for that.

-†-

Before we took off on our motorbikes, Roxy and Memil had some choice words for us. They were none too pleased that we’d gone out hunting without them.

“Fay, you’re always going behind my back and doing things in secret,” said Roxy.

“Not to mention the fact that you’d disappeared when we woke up! Do you know how worried we were?”

“I’m sorry, guys,” I said. “Really, I am.”

I tried to apologize in earnest, but Roxy and Memil only whispered between themselves. I had no idea what they were talking about. It was incredibly nerve-wracking, but Eris was all smiles. It was like she was watching a show that she wasn’t even part of. I was about to give her a piece of my mind when Roxy spoke.

“If you do something like this again, then we’re just going to have to put a collar on you, Fay!”

“Indeed! It’s the only way!” said Memil.

“Whoa, guys! I’m not a dog!”

I was sweating bullets when the girls burst out laughing and assured me they were just joking. I’d almost had a heart attack. I’d felt them staring at my neck and totally believed they were serious. In the end, though, they were happy. Exterminating those monsters meant that the townsfolk were safe from future attacks, after all. 

LeChoix couldn’t have been more grateful that we’d taken care of the Zodiac Scorpion. She promised to make it up to us in the future. I told her not to worry about it, but she got so fired up that I wasn’t sure if she actually heard me.

We rode the motorbikes south. My bike now carried three people, with Roxy sitting behind me and Snow in front. As long as Snow had me as a barrier, she was content. She remained cautious and wary around Roxy, much to Roxy’s chagrin.

With Memil behind the handlebars of the other bike, we rode on until we spotted a line of caravans overloaded with baggage.

“Fay, what’s going on over there?” asked Roxy.

“Unusual, isn’t it?”

The caravans were heading north. Merchants usually traveled in groups of five to ten, but the caravans were easily double, perhaps triple, that number. We stopped the bike to ask one of the caravanners about it. With a haunted look, he told us where they’d come from.

“There’s a barren stretch of land to the north. We used to live in an oasis that was located in the middle of it,” he said. “But a young guy showed up in town and opened a massive pit in the ground.”

The person whom the caravanner spoke of was unbelievably powerful. The hole he’d opened in the ground had completely dried up the oasis. With the only source of potable water gone, the land quickly reverted to a lifeless desert. The townsfolk had no choice but to pack all they could carry and head north in search of a new home.

“Eris, do you think LeChoix will have space for them in Lanchester?” I asked.

“It’s their best bet,” she replied, “and it’s the closest habitable land from here. With the threat of monsters gone, trade will start up in Lanchester soon enough. That’s definitely where they should go.”

Eris took a piece of paper from her chest piece and quickly wrote a note on it. She passed it to the man, saying, “Give this to the young lady governing the Lanchester estate. She will grant you protection for a time.”

“Thank you, holy knight. you are far too kind,” the man said.

“Well, I’m actually…you know what? It’s fine. You’re welcome.”

Eris understood that telling them her true identity would only make things more complicated, so she let the comment slide. She didn’t want them to make a fuss, so she watched with the rest of us as the caravans rolled into the distance. When they were gone, talk turned to whether we should stop by the former oasis.

According to Greed and Eris, we still had time before the Door to Distant Lands was fully opened. Furthermore, Roxy and Memil were desperate to help any other people still trapped in the town. Finally, as soon as the caravanner uttered the name of the person who had turned the oasis into a barren wasteland, we knew we had to go: Libra, Eris’s mortal enemy, and a holy beast like Snow.

When I heard of the oasis, I recalled a town I’d visited on my journey to Galia. This place had in fact been built above a terrible monster that lurked beneath it, but we’d ultimately had no choice but to leave it as it was. That monster was known as a City Eater.