Berserk of Gluttony (LN) - Volume 7 - Chapter 15

Chapter 15:

Combining Power

A GROWING NUMBER of ghosts crowded around the plaza in which we stood. It was as if they were an audience for the upcoming battle. Though none of the ghosts could be called sentient, perhaps their instincts drove them to throng around this ersatz arena.

The overwhelming pressure of Myne’s aura made me want to flinch and retreat. Though I knew I had to press forward, my body was telling me the opposite: Go back. Retreat. 

I’d never felt anything like it.

I had fought strong foes in the past. I’d faced the Divine Dragon and the Undead Archdemon. I could now state with confidence that none of them compared to Myne. When we traveled together, I had known that she was extremely powerful, but I’d had no understanding of the extent of her strength until this moment.

“Impressive,” said Greed. “She’s become even stronger, and she even managed to hide it from me.”

Her aura had changed, as though she became something entirely different. This wasn’t just something I intuited; I could see vivid flashes of lightning cloaking her as a raiment.

“She’s not holding back,” Greed continued. “Your next step starts the battle, whether you like it or not.”

Talking things over was clearly out of the question. We never would have reached this point if that was a possibility. I didn’t know if she would register the words I spoke, but there was still something I needed to tell her.

“I guess in the end, this is the only way we can settle our differences.”

Aaron had once told me that when humans couldn’t come to a mutual understanding, confrontation was inevitable. This was all the truer when you weren’t the reason for it. 

Before this world slipped any further away from us, I had to close the Door to Distant Lands. But Myne would under no circumstances give up on the Door, not if what Luna had told me was true. She had sought the Door for millennia—it wasn’t a goal she could abandon. Now that we were here and things had come to this, our conflicting views would inexorably lead to battle. There was no other way. It was an awful situation, one where right and wrong, good and evil, would be decided by the victor.

“Myne really believes that she’s doing the right thing. We don’t have any other choice.”

If I wanted her to listen to me, I had to defeat her first. I glanced back at Eris, and the thunderous crack of a gunshot resounded. Eris buffed me with the Phalanx Bullet. I was swathed in a blue-white film, a barrier that nullified attacks.

“You can’t afford to slip up against someone as strong as her,” she said.

“Thank you, Eris.”

Myne leaped into the air. Even the simple act of jumping sent waves of force pressing against me. Her red eyes were so overwhelming that all of my senses, my instincts, told me to retreat.

“Here she comes,” said Greed. “Expect heavy blows, so hold on tight.”

My black sword met the black axe with a dull metallic clang. Greed was right. It was heavy—so heavy and forceful that the ground cratered under my feet. 

I let out a wry chuckle. This was only Myne’s first strike.

“Push back!” cried Greed. “The more she uses the black axe in battle, the more effective it becomes!”

“I know!”

Sloth grew heavier the more it was used. It was difficult to wield because it demanded great strength and agility from its user, but for those who could handle it, Sloth was utterly fearsome.

The black axe pushed down on me, growing heavier every moment. With only the floor underneath me, I had nowhere to go. So instead of moving, I opted to deflect the trajectory of Myne’s attack. Sparks flew as the axe slid off the black sword, crashing into the ground next to me. It gouged open the earth as dust and debris billowed out. Using the plume of debris as a smokescreen, I leaped to the right to create some distance, but—

“Fate!” shouted Greed.

Myne charged at me through the dust with such speed that I couldn’t evade. I had no choice but to meet her attack head-on once more. This time, her attack was twice as forceful.

The clash of metal against metal reverberated throughout the air and through my arms as they strained to withstand the impact. I’d never felt anything like this in past battles. I poured my own power into the black sword, fighting not to lose against the unyielding force of the axe. 

This is only her second strike! I knew then that Myne would attack harder and faster as the battle continued. I stared at the girl who wielded the black axe, steadfast in her silence.

“Myne,” I said.

She was never talkative. But still, I knew.

“Quit holding back,” I said.

Myne remained silent.

“I came here to stop you.”

Her eyebrow twitched for just an instant, but I caught it.

“I know why you’re here. Luna told me.”

There was a change in Myne’s once-expressionless face. Always stoic in the heat of battle, her face was now tinged with hesitation. Hardly audible, she spoke a solitary word. “Luna…”

“Yes, Luna,” I said.

For just an instant, I thought I’d found a way to get through to Myne, but there were still those who wouldn’t let us speak so easily. Bloodred tentacles reached out and separated Myne from me. I sensed that letting them hit me would be a bad idea, so I had no choice but to retreat.

“Hmph, I thought I had you there. Too bad.”

Shin emerged from the ground like water bubbling from the cracks. He wasn’t human, but rather an organism in the guise of one. Greed and the others called him a superorganism, capable of hiding anywhere and taking any form. He turned his back to me and strode toward Myne to speak to her.

“As you asked, I’ve given you time,” he said. “However, I will wait no longer.”

Myne was silent.

“So do it. Kill them.”

Silence.

“If you don’t, the Door will not open. If you let this opportunity slip from your grasp, your wish will remain forever unfulfilled.”

Still, silence.

“This is what you’ve yearned for, for thousands of years. Now it is mere moments away, Myne.”

Myne cast her eyes down at her feet as Shin whispered to her.

“They’re all waiting for you. Do you intend to betray them again?”

“No.”

“Then fight like they mean something to you. Fate and his allies are trying to stop you. They are your enemies. Unleash what you are, and show them your power.”

Myne had searched for the Door to Distant Lands for longer than I could fathom. Assuming Luna’s story was true, if I were Myne, my heart would have broken again and again throughout the years.

Shin’s whispers touched on the reasons Myne had continued to live until this very moment. They triggered something inside of her, and she was unable to maintain her usual composure. When we had traveled together, Myne had seemed to keep her heart hidden in a faraway place. Now her most heartfelt wishes were on the verge of coming true. Not long ago, I would have made the exact same choices. 

Shin turned to me and smiled. It was the supercilious smile of someone assured of their impending triumph.

“Fate! This is bad!” shouted Greed.

“Get away from there, Fate!” Eris shouted at the same time.

Eris, already at a distance, fired a fearsome burst of bullets at Shin and Myne while some supernatural force pushed us backward.

It was Myne’s Wrath. She had told me about it during our travels. Though I knew of it, I had never seen the extent of its true power. Until now, I had only ever seen Myne swinging her black axe in a fight. On occasion, she responded to bullies with excessive force, but that felt less like a show of wrath and more like retribution.

So, I had always wondered: What happens when the bearer of Wrath gives in to their rage?

The answer to that question played out before my eyes.

“So this is Myne’s true form,” said Greed.

“I don’t think it’s something I ever want to see again.”

Greed chuckled. 

Eris hesitated over her next move. She had recommended our vanguard and rearguard strategy, and it had become obvious that she was no match for Myne.

I looked at Myne as though seeing who she truly was for the first time. A red aura enveloped her, so oppressive that it made me wince. It was the physical manifestation of the excess magical energy flowing from her. Two horns had sprouted from her forehead, and sinister markings engraved themselves upon her body.

“Fate, listen carefully,” said Greed. “She’s given herself up to her rage—she’s a demon of battle now. Your words can no longer reach her. Her present state is similar to when you’re consumed by your Gluttony. You know what this means.”

“She’s unleashed the powers of Wrath itself.”

“Indeed. This is not like your half-starved state. Myne has released it in its totality.”

Full power right from the get-go…

The time Shin had given her had all but run out, just as he said.

“You can see it in her movements,” said Greed. “She’s not playing around. Her attacks will be on a whole new level.”

I unleashed half of my Gluttony skill in response and entered my half-starved state. In the next instant, Myne vanished from my sight, even though Sloth should have been twice as heavy as usual.

“The time is now, Fate. We won’t be able to take her blows otherwise.”

“Then let’s do it!”

It was time to use something I had only ever practiced during my training on the spiritual plane.

“Greed!”

“Fate!”

As our voices came together, the black sword pulsated with a glowing darkness that wrapped itself around me.

“Crossing!” Greed and I shouted, our voices merged.