Berserk of Gluttony (LN) - Volume 8 - Chapter 7

Chapter 7:

Prepare for Battle

I DIDN’T KNOW HOW I felt about my father. I couldn’t put my emotions into words despite them being my own. 

Roxy noticed and kindly changed the subject. “Anyway, let’s focus on the problem at hand, shall we?”

“The problem at hand?”

“Eris.”

“Oh,” I said, feeling badly. She’d completely slipped my mind while I was lost in old memories and thoughts of my father. “We have to find a way to unlock whatever it is around her neck. There’s no guarantee Libra will release her once this is all over.”

“Indeed. He’s not a liar, but I get the feeling he’s never telling us the whole truth, either.”

“Yeah, I’m sensing the same thing.”

It was possible Libra had a goal beyond simply stopping my father. The fact that he also didn’t think highly of any of the bearers of Skills of Mortal Sin made me believe he wouldn’t simply let Eris go.

“I have to find a way to speak to Kairos again,” I said.

“Ah, the former bearer of Gluttony, you mean.”

“Yeah. He’s in here somewhere,” I said, tapping my chest.

Roxy knew what I meant immediately. “He’s part of your Gluttony, isn’t he?”

“He told me as much when I was on the spiritual plane. If I just had better control over it…” I muttered.

Roxy knit her brows in worry. “What is it?”

“Uh…”

“You’re not keeping things from me, are you?”

There was no use hiding anything when we would be fighting side by side. “Not anymore,” I said, taking off my jacket. 

“Wait just a second!” Roxy cried, immediately beginning to panic. “Fay?!” Her words died on her lips when I showed her my back.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner,” I said.

“They’re…wings.”

“But they’re not like the ones you have as a Valkyrie. These are useless.”

“When did you first notice them?”

“My back started feeling strange just before we reached Hausen…”

“When we were in Seifort?! But I didn’t notice them at the Desert of Extinction…in the bath…”

That was when Snow had broken down the walls between the mens’ and womens’ baths. And Roxy was right. I hadn’t had them back then.

“I got them when I devoured the holy beast,” I said. “There’s one other thing, too… It started the day after I fought Aaron at the royal capital, and it appeared before me.”

“What did?”

“I met another version of myself on the spiritual plane.”

“Huh?”

Roxy looked confused. I was still confused myself. Was it my Gluttony, crawling to the surface and donning my form in order to take over my mind?

“Are you okay, Fay?”

“I managed to keep it at bay,” I replied.

But when I’d done so, it had spoken with a fierce ­hatred in its eyes. You…are mine… The words had been filled with deep emotion, as if they were spoken by ­another human. Was it even possible for a skill to harbor such feelings? I was so confused. However, I could only see things from my own point of view. I didn’t want to say anything that would cause Roxy to fret even more.

She considered what I’d told her, as well as the wings on my back. “Is it possible that your Gluttony is activating in some way?” she asked.

“Probably… It may be because of these useless wings. I inherited my father’s blood; it flows through my veins. Then again, it might have nothing to do with my Gluttony.”

“Dean is one of the holy beastfolk.”

“But I didn’t expect it to manifest like this. I don’t have any holy beastfolk powers like Dad or Snow. All I have are these wings, if you can even call them that.”

I didn’t know what to do. I put my jacket back on and sighed.

“I’m relieved that the wings don’t appear to be anything serious, at least,” said Roxy. “The problem is what’s happening with your Gluttony. Controlling it…”

“It won’t be easy.”

Luna, who had once protected me from my Gluttony, was gone. My support, Greed, was gone, too. I had always relied on the two of them, but now, I had to face off against my Gluttony on my own.

“Fay…”

“I’ll do the best I can to control it,” I said.

The smile I showed her then was not meant to placate her; it was genuine and heartfelt. The words were as much for me as they were for her. I would need Gluttony’s power more than ever. I was certain I would meet Kairos again when the time came.

“How long do you intend to stay out here?”

The voice took us both by surprise, and we turned to find Eris staring at us.

“Please take some rest immediately,” she said.

It was clear that she would remain right where she was until we returned to our rooms. There was also the possibility that she would be punished in some way if we didn’t obey her. Fortunately, my conversation with Roxy had drawn to a close.

“Let’s go, Roxy,” I said.

“Okay.”

“Hang on just a little longer, Eris,” I said as we passed her.

Eris didn’t respond, but the seal around her neck glowed a slight red. 

Roxy saw it too. “Perhaps our messages are getting through to her,” she said.

Like us, Eris was fighting in her own way. I thought back to the promise I’d made at the Desert of Extinction. Her carefree nature had wilted into fear in the face of Libra. I would never forget that face.

We left Eris on deck and headed back into the airship. When we got back to our room, we found Myne dozing contentedly. 

“She’s got such presence, even like this,” I said.

Roxy giggled and gently covered Myne with a blanket. “That’s Myne for you,” she said. “She likes you very much, doesn’t she?”

“Where did that come from all of a sudden?”

“I’ve been with her a lot recently,” replied Roxy.

That was true. They were often together since Roxy was teaching Myne to cook. I was the designated taste tester. Myne still had a long way to go as a chef, and each taste test was its own life-or-death battle.

“I wonder how long it’ll take for her to actually cook something decent,” I said.

“She hasn’t had a sense of taste for literally thousands of years,” Roxy scolded. “You can’t expect her to understand how to cook in just a week or two. Besides, she looks so happy when you’re eating something she’s made.”

“Well, when you put it like that…”

When I first met Myne, she had been as expressionless as a doll, but now, she was beginning to change. 

I gently put a hand on her head as I watched her sleep. “Thanks for helping me out again,” I said. “I feel like I’m always falling back on your power.”

“Not true,” replied Myne, her eyes flicking open.

“You were awake?” I asked.

“Of course. This is enemy territory. I’m sleeping with one eye open.”

“Quite the feat,” I muttered.

“You just haven’t trained enough. We can train now, if you need it.”

I felt suddenly flustered. “I-I’m good,” I stammered.

“It was a joke.” Myne laughed, another new expression of hers. “I have to take some responsibility for what’s happening. And I’ll do everything I can to help close the Door. That, and…I want to be with you, Fate.”

“Myne…”

Nothing made me more ready for what was ahead than having Myne with me. Ancient monsters now roamed Galia, resurrected by the Door’s power. Her knowledge of the past was essential in dealing with them, especially now that Greed was gone.

As I thanked Myne for her help, I felt a piercing gaze. I turned to it ever so slowly and found Roxy, her eyes narrowed to slits.

“Oh, don’t mind me,” she said. “The two of you have been awfully close recently, haven’t you? Not that I mind in the slightest.”

Roxy’s expression stood in stark contrast to her words.

Myne didn’t care in the slightest. She yawned and rested her head on my knees. “Don’t sweat the small stuff,” she said. “I don’t.”

Roxy let out a low growl. I felt like I was in the presence of a dragon facing a tiger. I didn’t know how else to describe it.

Am I hallucinating? I certainly hope so.

During this tense standoff, Snow bounded into the room.

“Everyone’s here!” she cried.

I was relieved that she managed to open the door without busting it off its hinges. Snow had a bad habit of losing control of her Domain of E powers whenever she got excited.

“Let me play too!” she shouted.

“Stop! You’re only going to make things worse!” I shouted.

“Never!”

The room was going to end up a huge mess. And yet, I realized that I was smiling. The tense, serious mood that had hung over me since talking to Libra had suddenly eased, and it was these girls—my companions—who I had to thank for it.