Berserk of Gluttony (LN) - Volume 8 - Chapter 38

Chapter 38:

Berserk of Gluttony

THE DUAL BLACK BLADES were slightly longer than the black sword, and their streamlined forms were specially designed for slicing attacks. They were like a more refined version of the black sword, essentially forged from the long path Greed and I had walked together. The blades were unlike anything I’d ever wielded. No black cube would ever be able to imitate these. That was impossible. The dual blades were truly one of a kind.

“If you think you can recreate these, go ahead,” I said to Libra.

Libra growled in response, clutched at his missing left arm, and leaped backward to put some space between us. He glared at the new weapons in my hands. Fluids continued to leak from his wound, and a putrid stench permeated the air.

“Fay!” cried Roxy, worried I was defenseless.

But there was nothing for her to worry about. I shot her a smile, then turned to face Libra and launched myself at him. Everything he attempted to throw at us was blown away. His attacks meant nothing in the face of Level Zero.

At the same time, I was still receiving support from the souls that filled this world, and as such, my stats were practically infinite. There was still a price to pay, though. Not for me, but for the souls that granted me their strength.

“If that is how much you want to be with God…” I spat at Libra.

Even though I also knew the price, I had no choice but to take the power offered by the souls. That was what my Skill of Mortal Sin did. I couldn’t help but think back to what Myne had said, all that time ago—that Gluttony commits the deepest sin. The souls moved me, empowered me, and guided me. To hold back, to ignore them, would have disrespected what they offered.

I put everything I had into the dual blades. This time, they didn’t transform into something more menacing or aggressive. It was the opposite.

“Greed?” I asked. “What is this?”

“It’s blinding.”

“It’s the same for me.”

As I poured stats into the dual blades, their form became more divine. It was a far cry from the sword’s typical style, and Greed seemed unsure how to react. These blades were noble. I wanted nothing more than to believe this. The name of the Level Zero secret technique appeared in my mind. There could be no other name for it.

Infinity Divide.

I launched the attack on Libra. Stopping the path the dual blades cut through the air was impossible. Counterattacks were useless. While the dual blade secret technique was activated, I could go wherever I wanted in an instant. I landed strike after heavy strike unceasingly. Not a single slice missed its target.

There was no beauty in battle. In the end, it was little more than the clash of two opposing forces, no matter the reasons or excuses. That was what I felt as I looked upon the horrific holy beast that Libra become and the Divine Revelation binding him to the will of God.

“Where is all this…power…coming from?” Libra groaned through pained breaths.

Libra’s body was falling apart, and I wasn’t going to give him a chance to regenerate. My Gluttony skill swallowed some of his power with every slash. He was taking physical damage even as his stats plummeted. It was a never-ending death spiral.

“I don’t care how much power you gained from those other holy beasts,” I spat. “They don’t mean a thing!”

“Fate!” Libra growled.

Amid his suffering, Libra reached out and grabbed hold of my right hand. There was no need for me to lop it off with the other blade. A new level Greed and I could reach within Level Zero still awaited us.

A black bolt of lightning struck Libra’s remaining hand, sending it flying. 

“What?!” he exclaimed. 

I had used the always-trusty Bloody Ptarmigan, activating it from my right blade as I pushed Libra back. I’d used the power of more souls to do so, souls that would never return. I uttered a heartfelt apology, but I could no longer be stopped.

“That’s it, Fate! Push through!” cried Greed.

“Greed…” I said, realizing that we were pushing too hard.

Level Zero was the result of Gluttony and Greed coming together as one. Even the indestructible black sword couldn’t handle the sheer power of the dual blades, though, and Bloody Ptarmigan had caused a fracture to run through it.

“This is the end, Fate! Let him know the true meaning of the word berserk!”

That damned sword… Always acting like a badass…

Libra had lost both arms, but he was still a threat. He regenerated them, creating countless more, and sent them rushing at me in an attack.

“Fay!” cried Roxy, firing off another Sacred Cross.

The attack blinded Libra. I gave a battle cry as I leaped in close, scanning his body for the locus of his magical energy. When I locked onto it, I unleashed Level Three Deadly Inferno, carving into Libra’s weak point. Each slice contained a curse that ate away at him, forcing him farther backward.

“We’re not done yet!” I shouted.

I pushed Libra closer to the giant, sun-like sphere. In his struggle to deny me any more ground, Libra opened up his chest. An abundance of red cores were revealed, all of which fired blinding red beams of light.

“Your attacks are useless!” I growled.

Give me power! Give me more power!

I activated Reflection Fortress. The red beams of light bounced back at Libra, their attack power multiplied. I heard the dual blades fracture again, this time the one in my right hand.

“Do not give him any time to regroup! Believe in me, the mighty Greed. Believe in yourself, Fate!”

Whenever Libra left an opening, Roxy hit him with a Sacred Cross, slowing his movements. The black dual blades were engulfed in white flames. This light usually healed any and all injury or illness, and they now burned with a fire that would purify filth and rot. I couldn’t help but wonder if Twilight Healing had been created purely to counter Libra.

“I will cleanse you of your decay!” I shouted.

Libra let out an ungodly scream as he was engulfed in flames that would not extinguish. Even now, his sacred mark glowed red, denying him rest or surrender. Perhaps Libra was no different from my father or Snow in the end. He couldn’t escape God’s will, either.

“Keep it up, Fate!”

The fractures stretched farther along both dual blades. We were out of time. I sent black threads from the blades, all of which were wrapped in golden light. They swarmed Libra, glowing as they surrounded him. Struggle and fight as he might, he wouldn’t escape the grasp of Dimension Destruction. The attack had the power to shred through space itself, but all it could do against Libra was hold him down.

Is his power still rising?!

“Libra,” I grunted.

Even though he was practically in pieces, Libra—or perhaps his sacred mark—fought against the threads of Dimension Destruction. 

Libra wasn’t the only one in bad shape. I didn’t know if the dual blades could handle unleashing another attack of such magnitude. At the same time, all the feelings and memories pouring into me with each soul that offered itself up made me feel as if I were losing my mind. I was losing touch with myself.

I was changing. My own memories—good, bad, happy, sad, trivial, and otherwise—slowly blended with those of the souls that poured into me, like mixing paints on a palette.

Father. One more… Please, lend me your strength one more time!

I could no longer hear his voice, but I was certain he was still there somewhere, watching over me. 

And I knew Greed and I could still fight on.

“Let’s do this, Greed!”

“Bring it. You’re free, Fate!”

It was time for our final attack, a combination of the Sixth Level and Level Zero secret techniques. The fractured dual blades began to illuminate until they were so bright I could no longer discern their color. All I knew was that it was a light bright enough to engulf this entire red world around us.

Infinity Revolt Brionac.

The two blades came together to form a single great­sword, which plunged into and through the red cores in Libra’s chest. 

But this was not the power of extinction. It was the power of release.

I roared and pushed the sword deeper.

“That will…not work…on me…” said Libra between screams of agony.

“Let’s see about that.”

A fracture ran through Libra’s sacred mark, and I felt the red light in it weaken. The last secret technique plunged through Libra, and with a push, the two of us flew into the giant, glowing sphere. Somewhere behind me, I felt as though I heard Roxy calling my name. But I couldn’t stop.

I was suddenly warm and comfortable. I wanted nothing more than to stop thinking about the reality of the moment and the battle I was fighting. Then I noticed another change in Libra’s sacred mark—it was starting to repair itself. Libra himself was healing from all the damage he’d taken, too.

“God has chosen me…” Libra murmured. “I am the chosen one. This is the end.”

The dual blades were riddled with fractures, ready to break completely, but Infinity Revolt Brionac was still activated.

“But it won’t be my end. It will be yours, Libra!”

I would not let him heal or regenerate. I plunged the sword in deeper, and I heard my beloved sword—which had been with me from the start, through thick and thin—shatter completely.

“It’s been a hell of a ride, partner,” said Greed.

“For you and me both,” I replied. “I only ever got this far because of you.”

“You’re going to end things. Are you sure about this?”

“As sure as I always am.”

Looking outside of the giant sphere, I saw that Roxy wept. She understood what I was going to do. She was the kindest person I had ever known. All I wanted was for her to survive and be happy.

All the souls that had escaped harvest due to the battle between Libra and I encircled Roxy and, as if in response to my own wishes, began to draw her back to the world we called home. She couldn’t fight against them, and I watched as she was pulled away into the distance.

“Fay! Fay!” she cried. “I…”

My journey had truly begun the day I set out to save her. Though that same journey had brought us here, my desire to see Roxy safe had never wavered. In the end, I never got to tell her how I really felt, though.

I moaned. I was a fool. I knew I should have told her. I looked out to the other side of the sphere, hoping to catch another glimpse of Roxy, but she was gone. It was my one mistake I had never learned from, right up until the end. It was something Greed was fond of teasing me about.

“I guess I’ll leave with one regret,” I muttered.

“That’s okay, though, isn’t it? It’s in keeping with your character, anyway.”

“Yeah… I suppose it is.”

Aside from that, I had no regrets.

Now it was time to unleash the true power of Gluttony.

Devour it all!

I devoured the souls that had been built up over thousands and thousands of years. I devoured the failed god that had raised and harvested them, too. It was what Gluttony had always wanted to do, ever since the day it was born. As its bearer, it was my responsibility to see this through. Perhaps this was, in its own way, not unlike the sacred marks and the Divine Revelations that empowered the holy beastfolk. 

I could not escape my destiny.

Destiny… Why did my mother name me Fate, anyway? I wish I could have asked.

My chest grew warm. A scarlet light began to glow, swallowing up the failed God. I felt my own reality slipping. I was losing myself. I had gone further than any one person could ever go on their own. I had made the impossible reality.

Aaron had told me to return to the royal capital, and I wanted to do that for him. I wanted all the people I had met to live happily for as long as their lives would let them. 

The stats and skills of countless souls flooded into me. I couldn’t stop them. It was so overwhelming that I felt as though I’d forgotten how to breathe. I couldn’t even close my mouth. I was being constantly fed souls, and all I could do was gorge myself. All the power within me flowed into the Infinity Revolt Brionac.

“Fate!” shouted Libra one last time.

Whatever he had been about to say was drowned by his death cry. He couldn’t handle the overwhelming power, and it erased his sacred mark entirely. He, too, disintegrated. And as he did so, I saw his expression relax.

So it was true. Libra was a prisoner of Divine Revelation, just like my father. 

The dual blades combined into a sword of pure light, cutting through this very realm, this prison for souls. The flow of harvested souls from outside stopped and reversed, flowing back to where they had come from. 

The world here was beginning to crumble and break down, and my partner was gone. I had used all the power I had. In doing so, the dual blades reverted back to the form of the original black sword, then broke from the center outward and shattered completely. 

“You were always impatient and quick to complain. And you were the best partner I could have asked for. Thank you, Greed.”

Once I had spoken, I felt as though I heard the sword respond from somewhere distant.

“No thanks necessary. I was nothing more than a weapon.”

I’ll try, just like you did. I’ll push a little further.

I hadn’t devoured everything yet. The failed god still remained. The more I ate, the more I lost. All of my memories—­everything I never wanted to let go of—­began to slip away…

Aaron… You gave me the title of Blessed Blade. 

Myne… I’m sorry I can’t be with you any longer. 

Eris… Thank you for opening your heart to me and showing me who you really are. 

Everyone at the royal capital and the Barbatos estate. Everyone who believed in me and is awaiting my return.

All of my memories slipped away, one after another. People’s names, their faces… Everything disappeared.

Roxy…

This was a memory I did not want to lose. Her name, her face… I wanted to remember it all!

I… I…

“I don’t want to lose any of it!” I shouted. “All of it is so important to me!”

I didn’t want to be a hollow shell.

“Then all you need to do is call for help. You are not fighting alone.”

A powerful, graceful voice came from my side. It was Roxy’s voice. She was standing next to me. Had she somehow escaped the flow of souls and returned?

“I’ll support you, Fay,” she continued. “I don’t want to merely be protected. I will play my own part.”

“Roxy…”

“What you cannot do alone, we can accomplish together.”

I felt suddenly calm and at ease. The flow of wounded, suffering souls changed. The red light emanating from my chest altered, too. It became gentler in color, strengthening me.

The souls within my Gluttony reached their hands up to make things easier for me, lightening my burden. They formed a circle including Kairos, Micuria, Rafale, and even my father. Even people I did not know lent me their power. 

“It will be okay. You are not alone, Fay.”

“I believe in you. All of you.”

Roxy and I stood there as the world crumbled around us. It was us and the souls who had offered me their power who watched the end of this God and the world it had created. Everything was as red as the setting sun. A ray of light pierced the red horizon, revealing a clear, blue sky beyond. The souls danced freely, taking off for wherever it was they wanted to go. Was this the form that this world had always been meant to take?

Gluttony skill activated.

I heard the voice within me. It, too, had been with me from the start, but what it said next was different than usual. And now I knew whose voice it was. I had heard it in my dream, the moment I’d come here.

You did great, Fate. I always believed in you.

Mother… It was you all along. You were always watching over me.

Tears streamed down my cheeks.

“Fay?” Roxy asked, worried.

“All of you… You all taught me so much,” I said. “Thank you, Roxy.”

“What happened? Why this all of a sudden?”

“I love you, Roxy.”

“Wh-wh-wha…? You say that here? Now? At a time like this?” She stammered in surprise. Then, finally, she beamed at me. “I love you, too, Fay.”

We kissed as a new light shone upon the world, souls of different colors dancing around us in celebration.