Berserk of Gluttony (LN) - Volume 8 - Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

Angel Mode

MYNE WAS IN HIGH SPIRITS. So high, in fact that she was running circles around me.

“Is this some kind of ritual?” I asked.

“I’m trying my best to get you to notice me.”

“I have a feeling you’re going about it the wrong way.”

“Really? Sloth said that this was the best way…”

Sloth again. 

Myne had been doing all sorts of weird stuff recently, and whenever I asked why, I discovered that Sloth was responsible.

“Is Sloth the reason you hugged me, too?” I asked.

“Hmm? I just did that because I wanted to. I’ll do it again soon.”

“Well, okay, but…let’s avoid nearly breaking my spine next time.”

Myne studiously avoided my gaze. “I will do my best,” she said.

I wasn’t sure I believed her. We’d been traveling together too long, and I knew her too well. Depending on the time and place, she would certainly go for a tight squeeze. 

“Eris still isn’t back yet?” Myne asked.

“I’m still waiting. She said she was going to find a way for us to get to Galia.”

“Maybe she stopped somewhere to kill some time.”

“I doubt that.”

“Was she kidnapped?”

“Unlikely.”

Eris was the bearer of a Skill of Mortal Sin—she was very powerful. If someone wanted to kidnap her, they had to be stronger than her. The only people capable of that were holy beastfolk. 

She did have a history with one of the holy beastfolk—Libra. I didn’t know what had happened between them, and Eris clearly didn’t want to talk about it. Something inside her always seemed to wilt when it came to Libra, and I couldn’t bring myself to force her to open up. Still, Eris had shared two pieces of information with me. First, Libra was also known as the Bringer of Balance. Second, his Divine Revelation was to “expel any and all who dare to disturb the order of the world.”

If what Eris said was true, Libra would not be content to sit back and allow what was happening in Galia to continue. He had something in mind for us bearers of the Skills of Mortal Sin, too…

Then we felt it. Myne and I were constantly searching for any magical energies approaching Hausen while we talked—we wanted to know as soon as Eris was on her way back.

“Fate!” said Myne.

“Yeah, I felt it too,” I replied. “Eris.”

Speak of the devil. 

Eris approached Hausen at incredible speed. And she wasn’t alone. Another powerful magical energy was with her.

“Wait… Is that…?” I uttered.

“It’s Libra. I’m sure of it,” said Myne.

But why are the two of them together?!

Eris hated Libra so much that she said she was going to send him to the afterlife. So why were they together now? Something changed in Eris whenever she saw him. She stood strong and said she was prepared to fight, but her whole body shuddered with terror. Her trauma ran that deep. And now she was traveling with the cause of it.

“I don’t believe it…” I murmured.

“But it’s definitely the two of them,” said Myne. “And they’re headed this way.”

Myne took off in a flash to grab Sloth. Meanwhile, I put a hand to the sword that always hung at my waist.

The sword maintained its heavy silence.

In a recent battle against a holy beast—the Zodiac Aquarius—I had lost Greed. The battle was instigated by none other than Libra himself, so I now had a grudge to settle. It wasn’t just Greed, either. Libra had threatened the lives of all of Hausen’s residents. Perhaps he thought the sacrifice was negligible if it meant keeping the Door to Distant Lands closed.

“Fay! This magical energy!” Roxy ran over to me fully armed and armored, ready to fight at a moment’s notice.

“It’s exactly who you think it is,” I said.

“But why are Eris and Libra together?”

“I want to know that just as much as you do.”

“I can’t imagine the two of them ever working together.”

And yet, they approached us from the south. I looked in their direction but saw nothing.

“Do you think Libra is coming to attack Hausen again?” asked Roxy.

“No idea. The Door to Distant Lands is already open. All that remains is the underground city of Grandol, and there’s nothing there but the spirits of the dead.”

Bearers of Skills of Mortal Sin bothered Libra, so the idea of him working with one didn’t make sense. However, Laine had said Grandol was full of valuable and ancient information. Was it possible Libra was on his way because he didn’t want us uncovering those secrets? No, that didn’t make sense. He would have been here much sooner if that were the case.

No matter how much I thought about it, Libra’s ­motives grew no clearer.

“We can’t let Libra get to Hausen,” I said. “We’ll go to him.”

“Right.”

Just as we were about to take off, a voice spoke from behind us.

“In that case, I will remain behind.”

It was Memil, dressed in a spotless, starched maid’s uniform.

“I’m sorry, Memil,” I said.

“It’s fine. I can still watch your heroic feats from here. Besides, I am no longer a holy knight…nor even a warrior.”

“Memil…”

“As you can see, I’m a maid. And your little sister.” She held the hem of her skirt between her fingers, and smiled.

“Fay! We must hurry!” said Roxy.

“Now go, brother!” said Memil.

“We’ll be back,” I replied.

“Be safe.”

Memil bowed deeply—both as a maid to her master and a sister to her brother. I placed a hand on her head, but I knew this wasn’t the last time we would see one another.

“Take care of Hausen,” I said.

Memil looked up at me and nodded. “As you wish.”

I turned and headed back to Roxy and the two magical energies fast approaching our location.

“Let’s go,” I said.

“Right.”

Roxy and I unleashed our stats and took off in a flash.

“Let’s take the rooftops,” I said.

“That’s the best way out of the city,” Roxy agreed.

We leaped from rooftop to rooftop until Roxy let out a shriek of surprise. I turned to see the red-haired Snow clinging to her.

“I want to play too!” she cried.

She had to have seen us jumping across the rooftops and figured we were playing some kind of game.

“Don’t leave me out!” she pouted.

“Snow, this isn’t a game,” said Roxy.

“It’s not?” asked Snow, tilting her head as she looked at me.

“It’s not,” I said. “We’re heading south out of Hausen. Libra is there.”

Snow’s expression changed the instant she heard the name. She chewed her bottom lip with worry. “Libra…” she whispered. In an instant, Snow wrapped her arms tight around Roxy. “We merge!”

“What?! You mean right here? Right now?!” cried Roxy. 

“Here we go!”

“But I’m not ready…”

Snow ignored Roxy and forced the two of them to merge. A blinding light enveloped them from which Roxy emerged in full angel mode! She had four wings of pure white, and a halo glimmered above her head. The only word for it was divine.

“Fay! Would you kindly stop staring and nodding at me like that?” Roxy asked.

“Sorry. You’re just so pretty.”

“While I’m flattered, this is really not the time or place!”

“Yeah, I know. But hey, since I’ve got you here, mind giving me a ride?”

“I suppose I don’t have a choice, do I?”

Roxy lifted from the ground with a single beat of her wings, carrying me in her arms. We rose from the rooftops, and I experienced the joy of floating in the air. It didn’t matter how many times I did it—flying like this always felt amazing.

“All aboard the Roxy Express!”

“Hit it!”

I readied myself. Roxy had trained in using her wings and was much more capable with them than when she’d first become a Valkyrie. I knew firsthand; I had watched her skills progress. My ears popped as Roxy broke the sound barrier, unleashing a sonic boom in the skies over Hausen. If my stats weren’t in the Domain of E, my body would have probably torn to shreds and fluttered away on the wind. We’ll reach Eris and Libra in no time at all, I thought. 

We needed to find out what was going on. It was possible that the two were locked in battle. Even though Libra positioned himself as a good guy, he was anything but. We had to be on guard. My hand gripped the hilt of my still silent sword.