Berserk of Gluttony (LN) - Volume 8 - Chapter 5

Chapter 5:

The Airship Endeavor

ROXY, MYNE, AND I all stood on the deck of Libra’s 

black airship. The girls, too, had questions.

“Welcome to my airship, the Endeavor!” Libra said, spreading his arms wide and beaming. Whether his smile was genuine, we did not know. “Myne, it’s been so long. Do you remember me?”

“I do. I thought you died, yet you still draw breath.”

“You left me in quite a sorry state. I’ve been recovering ever since… It truly took an age.”

“Really?”

“I’m no liar. You know that. No matter what you think of me, I am under the aegis of God. But you’re aware of this, aren’t you? Oh, how it pains me that you think me a liar.”

Myne turned away, frowning. So, she has her own history with Libra. She’d lived an extraordinarily long time as the bearer of Wrath, so learning she’d clashed with him before didn’t surprise me. 

“Oh my. It seems you still hate me. You haven’t changed a bit…”

Libra seemed to understand that his conversation with Myne was over, so he turned to Roxy.

“Well, well. Roxy Hart and Snow as a single entity. You should be proud, Ms. Hart. It’s no understatement to say that you were instrumental in bringing down the Zodiac Aquarius. You caught me entirely by surprise.”

“Am I to take that as a compliment?” asked Roxy.

“But of course. Your genes allow you to use Holy Sword Techniques, yet you have managed to remain pure of heart. It’s a truly astounding feat.”

“What do you mean ‘genes?’”

“Oh? Did Eris never tell you? Holy knights are humans who have received a small fraction of the power of holy beastfolk. You are an heir to that legacy.”

“We received power from holy beastfolk?”

“Indeed. There aren’t that many of us, you see. We needed foot soldiers and agents to work on our behalf, so we created the holy knights. However, the power we shared seemed to cause mental aberrations.”

Roxy was shocked. “So the reason so many holy knights became cruel and sadistic… No…”

“When we granted them some of our power, we also gave them some of our mindset. That was a mistake. Those first holy knights were truly without mercy.” Libra sighed, as if the thought troubled him. “But you, Roxy, are such a relief. I can see that time has brought stability. Should you wish to serve me when this is all over, you need only say the word.”

“There is no need. I’ve already decided what to protect for the rest of my life.”

Libra stared at Roxy intently. “Such a pity. What a waste of a wonderful specimen.”

He hadn’t cared for her in the slightest when they’d first met, but her angelic form seemed to have elevated her in his eyes. Still, I wanted to put an end to this pointless conversation.

“If we’re brothers in arms, as you say, then why are you trying to sow discord?” I demanded.

Libra laughed. “I apologize. I have a soft spot for talented individuals, particularly when they also happen to be holy knights.”

For whatever reason, Libra had a thing for holy knights, and he seemed especially fascinated by Roxy and Snow’s transformation.

“Well then, shall we be off?” asked Libra. “Or should we relax here a little longer?”

“The sooner we get going, the better,” I said.

“I knew you’d say that. In that case, let’s depart.”

The moment he spoke, the stationary airship turned one hundred eighty degrees.

“Who’s steering this thing?” I asked.

“I am,” replied Libra. “I control it with my mind.”

“Huh? Is that even possible?”

It looked like Libra was simply standing around. I searched the airship for other presences, but the ship was deserted aside from those on deck.

“Do be careful. If anything happens to me, this airship will crash. Not that such an event would be fatal to anyone here.” Libra turned away from us. “We’ll arrive at Galia tomorrow morning. I suggest resting until then. I’ll be in the captain’s quarters if you need me. The rest I’ll leave to Eris.”

And with that, Libra disappeared into the airship, leaving Eris on her own.

“Hey! Eris!” I said, shaking her shoulders. “Snap out of it!”

Eris didn’t respond. It was as if something bound her thoughts.

“Myne, is there anything we do to help her?”

“Doesn’t look like it. Eris has become a living doll again. Kairos released her from it once, but she’s back to how she used to be. She got careless.” Myne pointed to Eris’s neck, around which was a seal that resembled a collar. “We can’t free Eris unless we break this.”

“How do we do that?”

“I don’t know. The only people who do are Libra and Kairos, who broke it once before.”

Kairos…

The former bearer of Gluttony and wielder of Greed. I hadn’t seen him since I’d encountered him in Myne’s past. I couldn’t return to that place now that Luna and the spiritual plane were gone. Willpower alone was not enough to see him again, no matter how much I may have wanted to. When we’d parted, he’d pointed at my chest and said he was a part of me. If that were true, we could still meet again. I just didn’t know when.

“Queen Eris,” Roxy said from beside us. “Please, wake up!”

Eris remained silent. 

I tried asking her about what Libra had said instead. “You’re our guide on the ship, yeah?”

“That is correct. I have been ordered as such,” said Eris. She probably only followed Libra’s orders, which meant she wouldn’t listen to anything we said outside of questions about showing us to our rooms. “This way, please.” 

She moved gracefully, leading us toward a different door than the one Libra had disappeared behind. Her mannerisms were normally the complete opposite. It was as if she were an entirely different person.

“The interior has quite a gentle and placid feel, doesn’t it?” said Roxy.

“Yes,” replied Eris. “Though the exterior is constructed with metal, the interior is of a wooden design.”

I had expected the pure white of the Galian laboratories, not something as relaxed as this. The airship’s interior wasn’t that different from a holy knight’s manor, complete with red carpets and stylish wooden walls.

“There are a great many guest rooms, so feel free to use any room in this area. Should you require assistance, please press the service button in your room.”

With her explanation given, Eris walked off.

“Eris, wait!” I called after her. But she was gone.

Roxy, Myne, and I stared at the doors lining the corridor.

“What shall we do about the rooms?” asked Roxy.

“Let’s share the same room,” said Myne immediately.

“I agree. That’s our best option,” I added.

“Okay.”

We couldn’t make plans if we were in separate rooms. Should there be any emergencies, we’d be slow to react, too. We took our time inspecting the different rooms and settled on the biggest one we could find.

“Here,” I said. “There’re four beds, so we can each take one.”

“I think I can sleep here,” said Myne, her mind on slumber.

She was born to fight, so she’d learned how to rest no matter the circumstances. It was an important talent for any warrior. Even Aaron had commended this skill of hers. Myne leaned Sloth against the wall and jumped into one of the beds. Within three seconds, she was out like a light. I couldn’t believe it. This was even faster than when we had traveled together. 

Roxy was shocked, too, but that shock came with equal parts admiration. “Incredible,” she said.

“She’s an expert at falling asleep,” I said. “It’s the waking up part she’s terrible at.”

“Shall we go somewhere to talk?” asked Roxy.

“Yeah, good idea.”

Myne may have been asleep, but she was still ready for anything and would be fine on her own. There were also things I wanted to talk to Roxy about, so the two of us headed back up to the deck.